A new tradition embraced by all

Tradition, tradition! For 94 years South Side High School’s Red and Blue meet has been about girls, competition, sportsmanship, creativity and teamwork. This year, for the first time, there was an addition to that line-up — charity.

Katie Richner, a junior at SSHS, approached Red and Blue’s faculty leaders at the end of last year’s competition asking if they might consider adding a fund-raising element to the annual tradition.

“We do all this work and have a great time doing it but I wondered why we were the only ones to benefit from our months of work. It seemed only natural to include a women’s cause in the competition,” Richner said.

Told to come back next year, Richner waited and before R&B got under way in December, she approached Meaghan Healey, Red and Blue’s co-director, who leapt at the idea, wondering why it had never been done before.

After conferring with South Side High School’s administrators, Richner worked with classmates from both teams — Simonne Sagar, Nicole Cronley, Olivia Gerrato and Kelly Limerick — and planned activities to collect money for a breast cancer-related organization. Both team’s t-shirts had a breast cancer ribbon printed on a sleeve, and several dollars for each shirt were contributed to the cause. Buckets at every practice session were used to collect pocket change, a bake sale with items donated by R&B participants, and donations collected during the evenings of the meet netted $2,034.

Richner researched several organizations to receive the funds and settled on the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program located in Garden City. Established in 1980, the hotline and support program is administered through Adelphi University and offers emotional support and information to people with and/or concerned about breast cancer.

Buoyed by the success and enthusiasm of the first year, Richner said she and her teammates look forward to raising even more money next year. She said she plans to expand her fundraising efforts in 2011 and is confident that she and her classmates can raise $5,000 and establish charitable giving as the newest tradition of Red & Blue.