Lace up your shoes, NASH. On Friday, March 22, the day before Spring Break, the school will host an all-day, in-school 3v3 basketball tournament. The first of its kind, the event will be a fun activity for participating students while also raising awareness for children with congenital heart disorders.
This tournament has been in the works for a few years, thanks to senior Clara Stover.
“I had this idea three years ago to fundraise money for our class, but we hit a couple bumps in the road after we got approval each time, so we were unable to hold the tournament,” Stover said. “This year, we got approval during the second week of school and needed to choose an organization to raise money for specifically in our community.”
Stover’s inspiration was bolstered when she connected with a local legend.
“I was working a birthday party with Coach Dave Gray and was telling him about this event, and I asked if he wanted to be a part of the event,” Stover explained. “After he said he was in, he proceeded to tell me about the perfect organization to hold it for, The Children’s Heart Foundation.”
There is an eight year-old, 2nd grade girl at McKnight Elementary, Mila Kinneman, who was born with a congenital heart disorder. Stover got in contact with Mila’s mom, Lea, regarding raising money for Mila and helping to raise awareness for her condition.
Kinneman explained that Mila was born with dextrocardia, a rare case that positions a person’s heart on the right side of their chest, coarctation of the aorta, narrowing the main artery, and holes in her VSD (ventricular septal defect) and PFO (patent foramen ovale). She had open heart surgery at five days old, and another at nine weeks old.
‘The real reason I got into the Children’s Heart Foundation is to support other families because when you are going through that with your own child,” Kinneman told Stover in an NATV interview. “It is a lot to be prepared for.”
The Children’s Heart Foundation’s main goal is to raise funds for research to find cures for congenital heart defects. The hope is to discover other ways to repair children’s hearts without performing many invasive procedures, such as open heart surgery, throughout their lifetime.
In a separate NATV interview, Coach Gray said, “I have been involved with the Children’s Heart Foundation for three years now. Kinneman’s son did an after-school program of mine at the elementary school, and Lea reached out to me, knowing what I did in the community, just to help out, so I’ve been part of their charity runs and walks, and it is something I look forward to every year.”
Coach Gray also encourages students and their families to join the next Children’s Heart Foundation sponsored walk in mid-June at Stage AE to participate or volunteer to get involved in this special program.
NASH students can get involved in the 3v3 tournament on March 22nd by signing up to play through the link in an earlier email from Mr. Karolski or on the NASH Student Information page on Blackboard. Students can also volunteer to help on the day of the event through the same method.
