The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District’s 12th annual Sally A. Lock Charity Game recently raised $10,411 for the American Cancer Society and Coaches vs. Cancer.
The annual soccer game has been held at Jamesville-DeWitt since 2010, when Sally Lock, the sister of junior varsity boys soccer team head coach Paul Krause, was battling ovarian cancer for the second time in four years. Lock died in December 2010, and Krause has continued to annually organize the fall fundraiser to honor her and support the fight against cancer.
“Every year I ask the players and their parents if they know someone who was diagnosed with cancer, and every time everyone holds their hands up,” Krause said. “I have lost three family members to cancer, another sister survived cancer, and lost many co-workers and former players to this disease. What we have done here at J-D is just a small part in the battle against cancer, and hopefully the funds raised through this event will get us closer to finding a cure.”
This year’s tournament was held Oct. 2 at J-D, and the boys varsity and junior varsity soccer teams played Rome Free Academy. Since the first event in 2010, the tournament has raised about $68,000 through t-shirt sales and sponsorships. The J-D boys soccer teams sold more than 425 shirts and obtained 36 sponsors for this year’s event.
“Why have I held this event every year for the past 12 years? Because cancer is a horrible disease that affects everyone,” Krause said. “The amount raised over the years is incredible. Over the past 12 years, the J-D community has come out in full force to help our soccer players raise the money by selling our t-shirts and obtaining all the sponsorships. I can’t thank everyone enough for what this means to me and my family every year.”