On May 23, the Key Club held its annual dodgeball tournament to help raise money for two nonprofit organizations: the Mighty Madison Fund/Arms Wide Open and The Leah Kuczinski Legacy Foundation. To enter the tournament, participants paid $5 which would support these worthy causes.
The Mighty Madison Fund/Arms Wide Open organization was founded to honor Madison Milio, daughter of Mr. Milio, a physical education teacher at NHP, who was diagnosed with DIPG, a type of brain tumor. This nonprofit fund is dedicated to researching a cure for the disease and spreading awareness for DIPG and childhood cancers.
The Leah Kuczinski Legacy Foundation was created to commemorate Leah Kuczinski, a NHP student who passed away in a go-kart accident. The goal of the non-profit foundation is to support causes that Leah was passionate about, such as animal rescues and special education. This organization has participated in many other fundraisers such as the Polar Bear Plunge and the Wildlife Rescue Center, while also helping to fund a scholarship for NHP seniors who display Leah’s kind, caring and compassionate nature.
Members of the Key Club detail the reasoning and logistics behind the competition.
“Key Club decided to host the dodgeball tournament because we thought it would be an exciting way to raise money for charities,” senior Riya Lukose said. “Participants make teams with their friends and compete for first place. The tournament allows kids to raise money while having fun at the same time!”
“For the dodgeball tournament, we try to choose charities that relate to the school. We chose the Leah Kuczinski Legacy Foundation because Leah was a former Key Club member and her charity is very important to me and the beliefs of Key Club. We chose Mighty Madison to show support for Mr. Milio and his family, especially because of “Go Gray in May”, which is brain tumor awareness month. Money that is donated helps fund medical research to fight pediatric cancer,” Key Club adviser Ms. Bocchino said. “Each team has eight participants. It is a double-elimination tournament and the final two teams play in the winners’ bracket. This year, team No Name was the winner.”
“Historically our school has had a dodgeball tournament every year and they’ve been very successful in the past. Everyone has a lot of fun and it’s just a way to get the school together. Everyone gets so competitive and it’s so exciting to hear people talk about it in the hallways,” senior Georgina Giannatsis said.
Many students consider the Key Club’s Dodgeball Tournament a success, with numerous teams in attendance competing and raising money for both the organizations.
“I had a very fun and enjoyable time at the dodgeball tournament with my team,” senior Bright Xiao said. “Although we were one of the first ones to be eliminated, it was fun nonetheless. I did it because it was an experience I would not be able to do again, especially with the team we had assembled.”
