A frenzied halftime shootout at a Warwick boys basketball game on a Friday night in December 2014 raised more than $5,000 for the family of a Warwick graduate with special needs who had recently been diagnosed with bone cancer.
The family said they were overwhelmed by the support from district students, staff and faculty.
“It’s crazy, it’s just overwhelming,” said the young man’s sister. “We never expected this kind of support. It’s just heartwarming that everyone is behind us during this journey.”
A week of fundraising
Sales of bandanas, wristbands and T-shirts throughout the week and at the game added to the total. Even the Penn Manor basketball team, Warwick’s opponent that night, bought bandanas to show support.
“This will help with any adaptations he needs, any medical needs, living expenses when he comes home,” his sister said, “so this really means a lot to my family.”
His former special education teacher at Warwick staffed the donation table beside family members, while her daughter, dressed as a snowman, encouraged fans to give. Students had sold merchandise during lunch periods all week.
Watching from the hospital
During the shootout, the teacher walked the gym floor with her phone, streaming video to a special viewer: the former student, watching from his room at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
“We pulled him up on FaceTime so he could see what was going on,” his sister said. “That way he could see the shootout, he could see everyone was saying hi to him, so he really enjoyed that.”
His mother, watching with him in the hospital room, later wrote on a supporters’ Facebook page: “It brought tears to my eyes, and I know he was loving seeing everyone dressed up for him.”
The student section leads the cheer
Warwick’s student section came decked out in holiday costumes, led by a classmate dressed as Santa, and broke into a “Strong” chant in his honor. Participants in the shootout dropped donations into a bucket before taking their shots.
“We gotta get him better, whatever it takes,” his father said.
More ways to help
The family had also set up an online fundraising page, which at the time had raised a few hundred dollars toward its goal.
More events followed. A Lancaster Chick-fil-A restaurant donated 15 percent of purchases from customers who presented a flyer during the week of December 29 to January 3, and hosted a Rally Night on December 30 from 5 to 7 p.m., where guests could spin a prize wheel for a $1 donation.
“All of that money goes to the family,” said a local sponsor who organized the restaurant fundraiser with her husband.
Local businesses joined in as well. Glory Days Vintage Toys at 119 North Broad St. in Lititz accepted donations and offered support merchandise, including T-shirts, bandanas and wristbands, to contributors.
A community response
“Tonight was so surreal for me,” his sister said after the game. “The student section chanting and an entire community supporting my brother. All I can say is thank you, and it touches my heart to know how loved he is, not just by us, but by everyone he meets.”
12 Families of Christmas
The family was the first featured in LititzDailyNews.com’s “12 Families of Christmas” series in 2014, which highlighted members of the Lititz and Warwick community who needed help during the holiday season.
Fundraisers like this one have long been part of life in Warwick, where school teams, student sections and local businesses regularly rally around neighbors facing serious illness, house fires or other hardships. For the family, the night proved that their son’s former classmates and teachers had not forgotten him.
This article was originally published in December 2014.