Hundreds play dodgeball in Wheaton to help end pediatric brain cancer
Energy was everywhere in the Franklin Middle School gym Thursday as hundreds of kids got pumped up to play dodgeball for a good cause.
At the end of the school day, all the students gathered for an assembly in the Wheaton school, where Assistant Principal Joe Kish reminded them of the purpose behind the third annual Franklin Dodgeball Tournament, which benefits the school and the Ross K. MacNeill Foundation.
Ross died in May 2013 from brain cancer, a few months before he was scheduled to enter Franklin Middle School as a sixth-grader. He would have been 13 on Sunday.
Kish motioned to the middle section of the bleachers, where all the students who attended Ross' elementary school were seated.
"We're doing this for a young man that should have been right here," he said. "But he's not. But our actions can still help keep his legacy alive."
The tournament began Thursday afternoon and runs through Friday. Teams are made up of students, teachers, police, firefighters, other law enforcement officials and athletes from seven area high schools. Raffles and silent auctions also are taking place over the two days.
Last year's tournament raised more than $13,000.
"Collective actions, when we work together, make a difference," Kish said.
Ross' mother, Kim MacNeill, told the students their efforts with last year's and this year's tournaments are helping fund new pediatric brain cancer research that will begin soon in Chicago and San Francisco.
"Both of those projects are going to change the life of a child with a brain tumor," she said. "I want to make sure ... you realize that you are a part of ending pediatric brain cancer and you have played a major role in what we've accomplished so far.
"You should be proud."