Normal Community West High School junior DeAndre Albright had to try to make a bit of a tough sell to his buddies outside the gym at his school on Thursday, Jan. 27.
But that didn’t stop him from trying.
He was helping to sell bake goods to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, an annual event to raise money to cure breast cancer. In the last couple of years, Normal Community High has had a bake sale to raise money to earn funds to fight the disease and the regular-season girls’ basketball game between Unit 5 rivals NCHS and Normal West seemed the most likely event during which to have the sale.
But it wasn’t just baked goodies being sold. There were pink T-Shirts that mentioned the Komen Foundation for sale, too. Being a guy and trying to hawk those to encourage other guys to buy them can be a little tougher. But that didn’t stop Albright.
He tried to cajole his friends into buying because they have female relatives to whom breast cancer can or should be a concern. His pitch was a noble effort, but his pals put him off. But that has not put Albright off on being dedicated to the cause.
Albright said he knows getting guys to contribute to this cause is a bit of a tough sell, but explains that he continues trying, because, “like most men, those guys don’t believe being affected by breast cancer will happen to them. But, it can happen to anyone.â€
He has been helping sell the shirts during his lunch hour, sitting alongside his sister, Lady Ironmen sophomore guard Kennola Thomas.
Kennetta LaSha Thomas is the manager of NCHS’ varsity basketball team, and explained the effort the team put into making this happen. “We stayed together after practice Wednesday, and baked and cooked and put everything together,†she said.
This game was the first year NCHS donned pink uniforms for the game, explained NCHS junior guard Sara Freed.
“We’re just happy to be able to do this, and follow the precedents that the NCAA and the Illinois High School Association have set up to do this,†said NCHS head coach Megan Schwefel. “We were just very fortunate last year to have a great crowd and helped us to sell over 400 T-Shirts.
“Our kids are fantastic kids on our teams who come from great families, and any time they can contribute to a great cause and help other people out, they’re very willing,†Schwefel said. Pitching in in this case meant doing some baking the night before the game so that they could have the bake sale along with selling the T-shirts.
Although Normal West donned white jerseys and played NCHS’ girls, who wore pink, Normal West head coach Angie Codron said her team was also supportive of the effort being made on behalf of the Komen Foundation.
“I think events like this are highly important,†said Codron. “I think it helps the players realize that there is more in life than just basketball. But this also shows how playing in athletics can spread and do good things for other people, so I just think it’s a good experience for them.â€
In addition to raising money for breast cancer awareness through the Komen Foundation, the proceeds from the tickets sold to the game to a memorial fund named after Ryken Bailey, Codron’s nephew. Ryken Bailey passed away from a rare brain cancer at age 2 on Jan. 13. A memorial fund has been started in his memory. That fund will provide educational scholarships to qualified applicants. Coach Codron and her family have my condolences.
I was unable to find out how much money the two fundraisers raised on the night, but I will bring that information to you in a future column.
That’s another girls’ intercity showdown in the books for the season. We will have to see how well West’s Boys’ squad does on the court when they visit NCHS this Friday, starting with the 7:30p.m. tipoff.