WESTFIELD – The Saints of St. Mary’s High School are off to one of the best starts in the history of the program, with a strong nucleus of senior leadership and a whole lot of heart.
And it is because of the team’s collective heart that the Saints are being honored by The One Hundred, an annual fundraiser put on by the Cancer Center of Mass General Hospital in Boston which recognizes 100 individuals and groups who help to fight cancer.
The team is being honored for a fundraising service they conducted during the 2012 season, in which they organized a varsity/jv double header against cross-town rival Westfield Voke and sold custom designed pink t-shirts printed at Steve’s Sports in West Springfield with all the proceeds going to benefit Nancy Rheaume, the mother-in-law of Saints head coach Troy Collins, who had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer.
The 26 organizers, ranging from 7th graders to seniors in high school, raised almost $3,000 for breast cancer research at Mass General.
“The seniors really stepped up and took it to the next level.” said Coach Collins said about the Saints who spearheaded the fundraising operation.
“The fundraiser raised the spirits of everyone involved, from Coach Troy and his family to the many friends and neighbors from both schools who took part in the event,” Mass General wrote in The One Hundred tribute book, “with heart and skill, the team rallied their community to support a beloved family and an urgent cause.”
Both the Saints varsity and jv squads will be attending an official announcement ceremony on May 7 in Boston at Mass General at 10:00 AM, with buses transporting the boys from St. Mary’s at 7:00 AM. A gala event at the Westin Boston Waterfront is scheduled for June 5, with the senior Saints set to attend.
Anyone interested in donating to the Mass General Cancer Center can visit the hospital’s donation website at give.massgeneral.org.
