Hoops for Sadie fundraiser scheduled for Nov. 26

The Bellmore-Merrick Basketball League is holding a Nov. 26 tournament called “Hoops for Sadie” in honor of Sadie Freifeld, a fifth-grade student at Birch Elementary School who, for the second time, is battling a childhood cancer of the nervous system called neuroblastoma.

Sadie was first diagnosed when she was three and, after treatment, went into remission for almost six years until she was diagnosed again in March.

Her then-teacher Alison Ippolito said that her students wanted to help Sadie through her treatment. However, “If you ask Sadie what you can do to help, she says to help someone else,” Ippolito added.

That May, her classmates held a car wash that raised more than $5,000 for the cancer center and, in June, created care packages to send to its patients. Her brother Max said that it showed him how much people care about his sister, adding that it was “probably the best I’ve felt since she was diagnosed.”

Hoops for Sadie will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kennedy High School gym in Bellmore. Entry for the 3-on-3 tournament is $100 per team with a maximum of four players. All proceeds will be donated to the NYU Winthrop Cancer Center for Kids where Sadie is being treated.