CLARKS SUMMIT — Two members of the Abington Heights varsity soccer team continued a recent tradition of raising money for cancer research through their senior project.
Juniors Pat Beatty and Thomas Stone organized this year’s “Red Card Cancer” T-shirt sale in conjunction with the girls soccer team and the middle school teams.
Head coach Steve Klingman started the fundraiser at Abington Heights in 2009 and believes the team has raised approximately $10,000 over the past six years to benefit The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.
“The kids have done a really nice job,” he said. “The whole team really takes part in the project.”
Beatty has a personal connection to the disease and wanted to give back to the community.
“My grandma had breast cancer and it’s a big problem in the country,” he said. “I thought it would be a good thing to raise money.”
Stone has also seen the effects of cancer and recognizes the importance of finding a cure.
“It’s touched all of our lives in some way,” he said. “I just thought it would be good to give back. It took a good amount of time to get everything organized and make sure everything ran smoothly. It was great seeing everything come into place and all the money coming in.”
Klingman expects the team will raise more than $1,o00 this year between the boys, girls and middle school teams.
According to Klingman, at least six or seven other Lackawanna League schools have participated in the fundraiser in the past, including Lakeland, Mountain View, North Pocono, Wallenpaupack, Western Wayne and West Scranton.
