High Point field hockey team raises $10.5K for cancer

SUSSEX — The High Point Regional High School field hockey team and its supporters raised $10,500 through proceeds from ticket sales, car washes, bake sales, and other fundraising events prior to the game.

The field hockey team announced the earnings of their sixth annual “Play Pink” game during the Board of Education meeting on Jan. 28, and the donations will go to various organizations for breast cancer research and women's health.

The game was held Oct. 11, but due to the holiday season and many snowstorms, the team was unable to share the results publicly at a meeting.

Coach Bev Keur said she worried the girls would lose interest in the event because by now they were already well into winter sports and other activities. However, Keur and the players remained enthusiastic and passionate about the game they played back in the fall.

“It’s very important to me because my aunt is a survivor,” junior Rachel Orr said. “We all have our own personal connections to it.”

She said a donation from her church was a true blessing.

"It's great to introduce the community to what we do and it's a great thing to see how generous people are," Orr said. "It's all about team in the end."

Another junior player, Autumn Smith, recalls how her grandmother would travel more than an hour to watch the game.

“A few of the girls we played asked me if they could have order forms for their teams for the “Play Pink” t-shirts. It’s amazing to see the types of people that come from far and wide to see the game and get involved,” she said.

Smith touched on a sentiment held by the team when she said that they “have a lot of pride because the team is doing so much for so many people.”

Senior Kaitlyn Mauriello put together a video presentation where she asked the players what the game meant to them. Like Orr, many teammates have loved ones who have battled breast cancer and were eager to participate in a fundraiser for cancer research.

Keur recalls the video “was played the morning of our game and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the building.”

The team made donations to the American Cancer Society, Cecilia’s Angels, as well as the Wildcat Booster Club for their support.

Representatives from Susan G. Komen and Project Self Sufficiency were presented with sizable checks at the meeting.

The $2,000 donated to Project Self Sufficiency will provide mammograms to 126 women in Sussex County who don’t have access to regular healthcare.