Whitko, Rochester Teaming Up For Good Cause
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Staff Report-
During their game Saturday at Whitko, which is scheduled to tip off at 6:15 p.m., the crowd won't be donning individual team colors, and the players' uniforms won't bare different team names, because there won't be any.[[In-content Ad]]During the game, the color is pink, and the teams on the floor will be one, proudly playing for the name on the front of their jersey - The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The game will count as a regular Three Rivers Conference contest, but on this night the game of basketball will take a backseat to the game of life as both schools play together for one Kosciusko county teen.
In many ways, Tatiana Costello is a typical 14-year-old, teenage girl. She is a bubbly young lady who enjoys track, playing tennis, watching movies and scrapbooking. She loves to watch musicals, listen to The Jonas Brothers and she loves the color pink.
However, Tatiana is far from typical.
At 14 years of age, she faces challenges daily that nobody, let alone a child, should be forced to endure as part of her treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL).
ALL is a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells. Acute refers to the relatively short course of the disease (being fatal in as little as a few weeks if left untreated). Treatment of ALL necessitates the need for immediate chemotherapy and potential radiation treatments to the spine and brain. As her treatment continues, Tatiana has one big wish: to travel with her family to the Dominican Republic.
The cost for this trip, when added to the cost of treatments, exceeds $6,000 and can quickly make the trip impossible, but that is where the Lady Wildcats and Lady Zebras are stepping in.
The young ladies from each school have worked hard to prepare numerous fundraising activities that will culminate at Whitko High School Saturday.
They have designed commemorative T-shirts to be sold at the schools, by the players for $10 the week of the game. They will be soliciting teachers and community members to bid for their special game-night jerseys to be auctioned off in a silent auction during the game and they have been selling Croc shoes giblets and Wish Stars for $1 donations to the cause.
The ladies have also arranged for three special raffles to take place on this night.
First, the pink game ball, which will be autographed by the members of the team, will be raffled off. A second raffle will be held for a Mary Kay gift basket and the third raffle will be for an autographed memorabilia collection by Shanna Zolman-Crossley, the 2002 Indiana Miss Basketball from Wawasee High school and current member of the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars.
Tickets for each raffle item will be $5 each or three for $10 the night of the game. Plans are still being organized for even more fun-filled activities and give-a-ways for the night of the game.
The coaches and players from each school ask for your support in filling the gym from floor to ceiling and turning the gymnasium into a sea of pink, the color of hope for cancer patients worldwide, in an attempt to show support for Tatiana and her family as they battle this terrible disease.
During their game Saturday at Whitko, which is scheduled to tip off at 6:15 p.m., the crowd won't be donning individual team colors, and the players' uniforms won't bare different team names, because there won't be any.[[In-content Ad]]During the game, the color is pink, and the teams on the floor will be one, proudly playing for the name on the front of their jersey - The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The game will count as a regular Three Rivers Conference contest, but on this night the game of basketball will take a backseat to the game of life as both schools play together for one Kosciusko county teen.
In many ways, Tatiana Costello is a typical 14-year-old, teenage girl. She is a bubbly young lady who enjoys track, playing tennis, watching movies and scrapbooking. She loves to watch musicals, listen to The Jonas Brothers and she loves the color pink.
However, Tatiana is far from typical.
At 14 years of age, she faces challenges daily that nobody, let alone a child, should be forced to endure as part of her treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL).
ALL is a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells. Acute refers to the relatively short course of the disease (being fatal in as little as a few weeks if left untreated). Treatment of ALL necessitates the need for immediate chemotherapy and potential radiation treatments to the spine and brain. As her treatment continues, Tatiana has one big wish: to travel with her family to the Dominican Republic.
The cost for this trip, when added to the cost of treatments, exceeds $6,000 and can quickly make the trip impossible, but that is where the Lady Wildcats and Lady Zebras are stepping in.
The young ladies from each school have worked hard to prepare numerous fundraising activities that will culminate at Whitko High School Saturday.
They have designed commemorative T-shirts to be sold at the schools, by the players for $10 the week of the game. They will be soliciting teachers and community members to bid for their special game-night jerseys to be auctioned off in a silent auction during the game and they have been selling Croc shoes giblets and Wish Stars for $1 donations to the cause.
The ladies have also arranged for three special raffles to take place on this night.
First, the pink game ball, which will be autographed by the members of the team, will be raffled off. A second raffle will be held for a Mary Kay gift basket and the third raffle will be for an autographed memorabilia collection by Shanna Zolman-Crossley, the 2002 Indiana Miss Basketball from Wawasee High school and current member of the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars.
Tickets for each raffle item will be $5 each or three for $10 the night of the game. Plans are still being organized for even more fun-filled activities and give-a-ways for the night of the game.
The coaches and players from each school ask for your support in filling the gym from floor to ceiling and turning the gymnasium into a sea of pink, the color of hope for cancer patients worldwide, in an attempt to show support for Tatiana and her family as they battle this terrible disease.
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