Mt. Prospect school hosts 'Volley for the Cure'

In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, St. Raymond School in Mount Prospect hosted its second annual "Volley for the Cure" tournament and fundraiser.

Organized by eighth grade volleyball head coach Trish Chuipek and Susan Fedor, the proceeds from the event benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

St. Raymond's sixth, seventh and eighth grade volleyball teams played Queen of the Rosary (Elk Grove Village) and St. Hubert (Hoffman Estates) teams. The girls' passion for the cause translated to intense play on the volleyball court

St. Raymond School Athletic Association president Karen Haaning was thrilled with the efforts both on the court and for the cause.

"I am very pleased and proud of everyone's support and enthusiasm for this cause. The girls on the volleyball teams, the coaches, the parents, the school children, the teachers and staff and all the fans came together to make this a successful event. We look forward to next year's Volley for a Cure," said Haaning.

The day began with an all-school jeans day at St. Raymond School. Students were dressed in pink and each brought a dollar to donate to the Susan G. Komen Fund for the Cure.

After school, the sixth grade girls' volleyball team took on the task of decorating the gym. There were pink and white balloons, a 10-foot high pink and white balloon breast cancer ribbon symbol. The sixth grade girls supported the goal of generating awareness about the disease by including important figures and information on their posters and banners. Posters were also recycled from Volley for the Cure at Prospect High School.

St. Raymond eighth grade head coach Trish Chuipek said, "It was a nice way to get the younger girls involved." She also said "This year we added the volleyball raffle and we have some ideas for next year as well."

All St. Raymond girls wore pink Volley for the Cure 2009 tee shirts. The shirts were designed by Susan Fedor and all 65 shirts were donated by Jim Piko at Marathon Sportswear in Blue Island. Several other donations were made including each match's pink and white ball and pink ribbons for all players. Following the match, the pink and white volleyballs were raffled off.

Many fans in attendance wore pink. Both teams played well. The St. Raymond seventh grade black team played an especially exciting match, coming down to the third game ending in a battle to the end with Queen of the Rosary pulling out the 25-27 victory.

Named a 2009 Blue Ribbon School by the U. S. Department of Education, Saint Raymond School, a parish elementary school (Pre-K though eighth), is a part of the Faith Community of Saint Raymond de Penafort in Mount Prospect. For information, (847) 253-8555 or visit st-raymond.org.