Dance benefits Miracle League
JACKSON TWP — Students danced, ate, laughed and played games at Seneca Valley's fifth annual Raiderthon event — all to raise money for charity.
The dance was held from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday in the senior high school gymnasium.
All the money raised from the danceathon, GoFundMe page and other events will go to the Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which provides the opportunity for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities to play organized baseball.
Terry Shulsky, a Miracle League board member, kicked off the event by talking about how much Seneca Valley's students have contributed to the organization over the years.
“In five years, (Seneca Valley) has raised more than $85,000,” he said. “Seneca Valley has been one of (our) largest supporters for 10 years. (We're) very humbled and grateful that they continue to support us.”
Shulsky said that without the support from students, the Miracle League wouldn't be able to afford the facilities and uniforms it offers. He also brought to the stage two Miracle League participants to tell students what the Raiderthon means to them.
“Thanks for helping us and raising money for us,” said Mitchell Everly, a Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School student. Mitchell, who said he is 7-and-a-half, told the high school students that his favorite part of Miracle League is “running fast.”
Ella Tomaszewski, 10, is a Butler Middle School student who has participated in Miracle League for seven years. She said the most exciting part of Raiderthon for her is the event's countdown from 10 for the first dance.
Also in attendance for the evening was Jordan Sherry, 15, who is “the reason Miracle League started.” Jordan's father, Mike Sherry, is the president and founder of Miracle League. He started the league in 2007 for his daughter, who is autistic, to have a chance to play sports while taking into account the needs she and others might have on the field.
Student Council President Samantha Condrick led the countdown to begin the first line dance of the evening with the help of Ella, Mitchell and Shulsky.
Samantha, a Seneca Valley senior, said Raiderthon is a way for students to give back to the community that gives so much to them.
“People want to give back,” she said of the number of students who showed up for the event.
“A lot of them already volunteer with Miracle League. It's in Cranberry; it's in our backyard, so it makes sense to give to them,” she said.
Samantha said that the student council's committee chairmen vote every summer to determine which charity will receive money raised through Raiderthon. Miracle League wins every year, she said, because it provides children with an experience they might not otherwise be able to have.
“We all just want to help,” she said.
About an hour into the evening, students had raised about $7,000 for Miracle League.Jessica Kerr, senior high school student council adviser and math teacher, said she hopes the students will be able to meet their goal of raising $10,000.More than 100 student dancers, Seneca Valley faculty and community members participated in the event, which included snacks, balloon artists, games, cornhole, line dancing and lessons at the top of every hour and “big” volleyball featuring an inflatable exercise ball.Kerr, who has been involved with Raiderthon for the past two years, said the students do most of the planning and coordinating for the event. She said planning “really picks up” in January, and fundraising tends to become more prevalent in the last few weeks leading up to the event. But, she added, the next day they will look at what was done well and what could be improved and begin planning for the next year.“They start planning pretty much as soon as it's over,” she said.Kerr added that the event wouldn't have been possible this year without the help of Rebecca Beers, an English teacher at the high school, and the commitment from students on each of the committees for the event.“I think it's just really nice to come together as a community,” said junior Coryn Ferguson, who was part of the activities council for Raiderthon along with senior Stephen Vandrak.“It's for a local charity that helps kids — which, we're kids, so why wouldn't we want to help?” Coryn said. “Miracle League does a great job of providing an opportunity for kids to play and have fun.”Coryn said it's important to the Seneca Valley community to be able to do things like Raiderthon to become closer with one another and improve their community.To help Seneca Valley students reach their goal for Miracle League fundraising, visit www.gofundme.com/raiderthon2019, which will be open for a few weeks after Raiderthon has ended.
