Last year, Headmaster Deborah Holman asked the junior and senior Powder Puff teams to consider being a part of something bigger.
This year, the senior team will use Powder Puff to bring attention to a noteworthy cause: breast cancer awareness.
They will raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer awareness.
The teams will be asking for pledges in honor of people who have fought or died from breast cancer, according to senior Kristina Wolinski, who made the pledge sheets herself.
METCO Director Keith Lezama, one of the senior team’s coaches, said that the students aim to raise a minimum of $40 each.
The team will present the check to Executive Director of Komen Massachusetts Ronnie Cohen on the day of the pep rally, Lezama said.
He also said that he hopes the students will have time to make a pledge board to parade at the game.
The drive to do a service project originated with the senior class, Lezama said.
“They’re great young ladies who really care about giving back to the community. It was something to show, ‘This game is a lot bigger than us just going out and playing football,’” he said. “They thought that this would show to not only the school community but the entire community that it’s important to give back.”
According to Lezama, the initiative came from the students, but he and the other coaches helped them choose breast cancer awareness from a number of charitable causes.
“I think many young ladies had family members who they were close with who either had breast cancer or died from breast cancer,” he said. “It touched home with many young ladies, so it was something that they wanted to do.”
Wolinski said that breast cancer awareness seemed an especially appropriate cause, because it is primarily a women’s issue, and Powder Puff is a women’s game.
She said that she thinks Newton South High School’s cancellation of their Powder Puff game might have driven the team to do something that would counter negative perceptions of the event.
“I think that they wanted it to be more meaningful,” she said. “It’s something that’s really meaningful to the student body. But I think that they just wanted to show that we as a class can support breast cancer awareness, and that we can make this about something other than just ourselves.”
Lezama said he attributes their inspiration to Holman.
“She wanted them to think bigger about what today, meaning the Thanksgiving game, is, what pep rally is,” he said. “It inspired them to think, ‘Ms. Holman charged us with this goal to give back, and that’s what they’re going to do.’”
Emma Nash can be contacted at [email protected].
