My name is Katie Masa and I am the Sophomore Class President at Cox Mill High School (CHMS) in Concord, North Carolina. My uncle, Dan Mulligan, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma cancer. Due to these unfortunate circumstances, my brother, Gavin Masa, a junior at CMHS, and I co-founded a fundraiser that took place on March 11, 2020, at our high school. The name of our fundraising event is Spike Out Sarcoma, a spikeball tournament.
This summer we were informed that our uncle had been diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma. My brother, Gavin, and I wanted to show our support not only to our uncle but to all of those who have been or might be affected by sarcoma, too. During our research we discovered this type of cancer is also prevalent in children, so we knew our school community could relate. This type of cancer could impact a peer, teammate, sibling, neighbor or friend. We know how much it has impacted our lives with our uncle’s diagnosis, so we knew we had to organize something to help fund further research. We felt that this would be the best way to create a supportive way to rally along the sidelines the best we can. This initiative resulted in an amazing event that we had the opportunity to host at my high school.
Starting an event for the first time is not as easy as it may seem. Gavin and I had many conversations and meetings with our student council advisor, the administration team at our school, as well as the CMHS student council. These meetings took place to propose our event, confirm a date, and other follow ups on the development of Spike Out Sarcoma such as the acquisition of nets and creation of teams. Throughout the process of creating this event we were faced with many challenges and rejections from companies and local businesses. Even though we would be upset, we made sure to make it a positive point and that rejection was just a push for better opportunities! These better opportunities thus far provided sponsorship with two local restaurants. Afton Pub & Pizza, who kindly donated 15 pizzas to sell at the event. As well as a sponsorship with two other local food chains, Fresh Off The Grill, and Foster’s Grille, who donated gift cards to be given as prizes to the winning teams!
We dealt with a few challenges initially getting our peers involved with Spike Out Sarcoma. In order to have the most teams sign up, and make the most profit to donate, my committee and I made some impactful decisions for the event. These decisions included, dropping the team fee cost and not making tee shirts in order to make it more appealing to students. After these changes, more teams signed up and more publicity by word of mouth and social media occurred. Also, by sharing a more in depth story about my connection to my uncle and his condition to a few close friends, they were also a big help in spreading the word. Finally, not only was school involvement huge with a total of 25 teams signed up, we also created an online fundraiser through the Wendy Walk website. As of March 20, 2020 we have been able to raise $1,705 from the online link from other family and friends that goes directly to our cause. As well as, another $789 from the team fees and admissions/concessions from the night of the event. It is our intent to expand this event yearly to include all of the high schools within our county, allowing us to create a tradition therefore continuing the fundraising legacy of Dan Mulligan for years to come. We want to have giving hearts like our uncle and inspire those touched by sarcoma to feel they have a place to support those they love too.