The 2023-2024 school year is coming to an end for the students of North Allegheny, and as the last of the final exams wrap up at the senior high school, the student body participated in a favorite end of the year activity, dodgeball.
The annual Project Water tournament, which was held on May 17 in the NASH gym this year, holds a charitable and special meaning to the participants.
“A student named Josh Thomas started the event at NAI when he was in 9th grade back in 2014,” NASH math teacher and Project Water sponsor Laura Prosser said. “He was inspired to raise money to contribute to providing clean water to villages in Uganda.”
Prosser, along with NASH senior Elizabeth Vales, put together this year’s 10th annual tournament.
“Trying to get corporate sponsorships, creating a hype video, preparing and collecting registration, and creating the tournament schedule are just a few things that go into preparing for this event,” Prosser said.
The event included a collection of food trucks from Greek food to tacos. Millie’s Ice Cream and free Starbucks drinks were also a big hit for the participants. Each student who participates in the tournament paid a fee that was donated to charity.
“We have worked with a collection of different organizations over the years, but currently all proceeds go to Edunations and Water for Good,” Prosser said. “We have contributed to building many wells, schools, and medical facilities over the past ten years.”
This year, around 500 students participated at the senior high school alone. Including the NAI dodgeball tournament, which was held in April, Project Water raised roughly $20,000 this year.
Along with food trucks and dodgeball games, the event also included a Project Experience to explain to students the cause behind the event they took part in.
“The experience was eye opening to see how women in Sierra Leone get their water on a day to day basis,” NASH junior Hannah Delucia said. “Each team had a three-minute challenge to get water from one bucket to another, hopping on one leg to simulate how water was transported back to villages who had no clean water.”
The tournament itself was a thrilling experience for students who brought out their competitive side to win the dodgeball trophy. All participants worked together with their teammates to prove they were the best in the tournament.
After hours of dodgeball games, tough losses, and exciting wins, the tournament came to close with one team emerging triumphant above the rest. All-senior team, Chino Hill, won it all with group members Ryan Jackman, Jack Pingpank, Shay Gupta, Evan Lyon, Joseph Marquis, Joey Dopirak, and Patrick Jones.
With the end of this year’s tournament, NASH students look forward to another successful Project Water experience next year, in hopes of raising even more money for the cause.
If you are interested in donating or learning more about the two organizations supported in Project Water, click the links down below to read more.
Water for Good – Clean and Lasting Water for the Central African Republic
