The student-faculty basketball game is an annual event at Vestavia Hills High School. Senior students compete in a friendly yet intense game of basketball against their very own teachers. The game takes place during school hours. If students wish to watch the game, they pay three dollars and all the proceeds support the fall charity, which is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation this year. Vestavia Hills High School students packed out the gym!
The game consisted of two ten-minute halves. To start off the game, the students were looking strong, hitting multiple three's. It was definitely not looking too good for the faculty. At the end of the first half, the seniors had a 23 to 8 lead; however, in the second half, the teachers decided to turn on the switch. Having many game-changing plays in a row, they went on a run. They were able to hold the students to a devastating two points in the second half, and the final score was 28 to 33 with the faculty taking the win.
Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is defined by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as “a progressive genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.” Cystic fibrosis can affect anyone, and about 40,000 children and adults in the United States are currently living with the condition. Having CF can mean taking around fifty pills a day! The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure to CF and helping patients live long, fulfilling lives. They provide CF patients with the opportunity for not only specialized care, but also a community of support. In 2007, the life expectancy for a child with CF was about thirty years of age. Today, it has increased to around fifty years old and the hope is that it will only keep increasing. Taking into consideration all of this and the multiple connections Vestavia schools have to this illness, it was a great fit for the VHHS fall fundraiser.
During half time of the game, the school heard from Magen Wright. Mrs. Wright is the proud mother of two six-year-old twin boys, Merritt and Cam, who are currently living with cystic fibrosis. Merritt and Cam are in kindergarten at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge. Magen Wright said a quick few words about a small improvement in her boys' health, assuring the crowd of how much of an impact their fundraising is making. In a social media post concerning earlier VHHS fundraising efforts, the Wright family states, “...we are part of a community that knows how to rally.” Vestavia Hills High School students and faculty sure do know how to step up when asked and come together to support a cause. This has been proven on many occasions, and the student-faculty basketball game is yet another example.
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