A successful 4th Annual Faculty/Student Basketball Game was held last night at the Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (MAMS) on Matawan Avenue in Cliffwood. Over 500 new or gently used toys were collected for the benefit of local needy children this holiday season as the cost of admission to the event. Raffles and snacks raised money for the Willow Tree Center, which provides prevention, education, and counseling to middle school students across New Jersey.
About a third of the student body showed up, many with their parents, to either play or cheer on their fellow classmates in a series of short basketball games with faculty. Cheerleaders stood along the sidelines and roared their support, taking center stage at half time with a rousing performance involving pyramids and lettered signs. Students and parents took to the floor at halftime for a benefit dash and some foul shot contests. Volunteers staffed a snack and raffle area in the cafeteria. Over a dozen teachers, many wearing their teachers association shirts, supported the event, either on the basketball court, selling concessions, or providing organization.
We should be grateful to the many teachers and administrators from MAMS, as well as teachers and substitutes from Matawan Regional High School (MRHS) and other community members, who volunteered considerable time and effort to make this event happen. And we should be proud of the many students and parents who supported the event.
Charlie Marsh, an MRHS teacher who founded the event five years ago while teaching at MAMS, told me that the kids develop rapport with their teachers after seeing them on the basketball court and working with them for a worthy cause. He commented that more and more parents come out to the faculty/student game every year because it is all students talk about for at least a week.
Last year the toys collected went to Manna House and the Matawan United Methodist Church. Be sure to check out the videos I added to go with this article.
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