Northern Star: Superior Boys Basketball
Spartans raise money for childhood cancer victims
SUPERIOR, Wis.- On Monday, the Superior boys basketball team put on a show in their 54-40 win over Hudson. However, the play of the game didn’t happen on the hardwood.
The Spartans’ “Shoot Out Childhood Cancer” night raised money for the St. Luke’s Foundation, as well as for Amelia, who’s a student at Cooper Elementary School currently battling acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
“She’s going to be here one day. She’s a part of the Spartan community,” said Brandon Aker, a senior on the basketball team who helped organize the fundraiser. “Having that connection with her made it more special.”
The team chose to focus their attention on childhood cancer since it’s had a direct impact on Head Coach Kory Deadrick and his family. Deadrick’s 17-month-old nephew, Colter, is in his second round of chemotherapy after already losing his eye to Retinol Blastoma.
This isn’t the first time the Superior boys have raised money for causes that are important to them. In fact, they’ve made it an annual tradition to set their sights on something bigger than basketball. “We’ve had a really positive outcome,” says senior Tresean Sanigar in regard to previous fundraiser. “Normally, we plan a night where there’s no other games going on, or events, so it’s a packed house, and people raise a lot of money for it.”
The Spartans were able to raise funds through a silent auction, selling everything from game-worn jerseys, special offers donated by local businesses, and items from professional sports teams like the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Putting an event like this together wouldn’t have been possible without the months-long effort from the student-athletes looking to make a difference.
“We’ve got a really good group of young men getting donations, monetary, silent auction items, going around the community seeking donations.” says Coach Deadrick, who’s made a point to get his players involved in causes beyond basketball.
“We put a lot of time and work into it. The biggest thing for our team is that we haven’t just sat back and let it happen,” says Aker. “We’ve done something, we’re raising money for them. We’re just trying to do our part along with the community. We shouldn’t just sit back and let it happen.”
If you would like to help their cause, click this link to donate to the St. Luke’s Foundation, which funds life-saving research and provides patients with the care they need.
