Currently undergoing treatment in Boston at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, sophomore Sophia Hurtado has been struggling with her recent diagnosis of Cushing Syndrome as well as a rare tumor on her pancreas since Jan. 30. After finding out about her diagnosis, the school created a Go Fund Me page for Sophia to help pay for her medical expenses and her family’s hotel stay in Boston.
Although the school has successfully continued to raise money to help Sophia, they wanted to come up with something more, a possible fundraiser event in support of Sophia. A group of educators, specifically Mrs. Jessica Miliffe, Mrs. Melissa Becerra and Mrs. Krisynda Cicos, along with this school year’s junior class president, Victoria Molina came up with and put together a school kickball game in order to raise more money for Sophia as well as interest the students with a fun sports game for a good cause.
“Victoria came up with the idea of a kickball game on campus. We had thrown around the idea of doing grades against each other but decided it would be more fun for friends to form their own teams,” Mrs. Cicos said.
The game took place Tuesday, April 23 at 3:30 on the softball field. Students playing were asked to donate $2 and those watching were asked to donate $1. Administration also sold water, sodas and chips for $1 and pizza slices for $2. In all, the school raised about $750 for Sophia and her family in one afternoon of kickball.
Six teams, each made up of 10-12 students participated in the kickball game. The winning team included seniors Osvaldo Souza, Ryan McGowan, Alex Ducheine, Rafael Gleicher and Cale Torres.
“Several sophomores came out to the kickball tournament to support their classmates. I was told some FaceTimed her during the event to raise her spirits. It was really nice to have her brother Sebastian there as well cheering on their classmates,” Ms. Cicos said.
The school hopes to continuously support Sophia on her journey and help her reach her financial goal of $50,000 as it is now at $43,415. If you want to donate, you can donate to the Go Fund Me page or take part in the variety of on-campus fundraisers taking place.
