“Kicks for Cancer,” an annual indoor soccer tournament fundraiser organized by Abington Friends School students, raised $13,589 this year to support melanoma research at Fox Chase Cancer Center. This year’s tournament was the biggest in recent memory, with 20 teams in competition, comprised of approximately 120 students, friends, AFS faculty and staff, and alumni. Since 2010, Kicks for Cancer has raised more than $80,000, including this year’s donation.
“It feels like a wholesome throwback for the entire community, and a joyous opportunity to have good, clean fun in support of our deserving neighbor, Fox Chase,” said Adena Dershowitz, Director of the AFS Fourth Century Center, Director of Experiential Learning, and faculty advisor for the tournament. “Kicks for Cancer is a favorite event on the school year calendar, and it is made even more remarkable due to the fact that it is entirely run by a core organizing committee of five students.”
The competing teams range from five to 14 players, and each has its own T-shirt color and team identity. AFS also hosts a “Kiddie Kicks” soccer clinic for elementary-age students in the lower school of AFS, which, while less high-stakes, has become an important part of the communal fabric of the event.
The tournament was founded in 2010 after the death of Ray Furlong, the father of AFS student Christina Furlong. In his honor, the varsity soccer team initiated Kicks for Cancer as an annual fundraiser that unites the community for a good cause. According to Dershowitz, the committee of students who plan the tournament gains a tremendous amount of event and project management skills.
“As a parent, it is one of my favorite school events each year, it is tons of fun to watch, and the students raise funds to support melanoma research at Fox Chase and awareness of melanoma among their peers,” said Jeffrey M. Farma, MD, FACS, Chair and Professor of Fox Chase’s Department of Surgery, and Surgical Director of Fox Chase’s Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program. Farma’s son recently graduated from the 12th grade at AFS. “The students who organize this event do amazing jobs; not just in getting all the pieces together, but also in keeping the mood light and moving everything along at a quick pace.”
With the enormous interest in signing up for the tournament this year, things were in constant motion, says Angela Stevens, a graduating senior at AFS and member of the committee. “We had to keep expanding our brackets and moving the start times earlier,” said Stevens. “I am an AFS lifer and a huge soccer fan. I’ve played in the tournament but didn’t know students ran the event, so this has been a ‘full-circle’ moment for me.”
Fellow senior and committee member Mayalondyn Gray agreed that this year probably took more leadership than most. She had been involved as a volunteer as a sophomore, contributing her graphic design talents, before joining the committee as a junior. This year, she organized the Kiddie Kicks tournament for the younger AFS students.
“I feel that there is a sense of joy, starting with the younger kids and carrying through to the main tournament,” said Gray. “For us on the committee, it feels that all the calling and following up with sponsors is worth it, and this tournament is part of our legacy.”
“With so many moving parts, the event can be complex, so the students begin organizing in the summer before the tournament,” Dershowitz said. “Students gain valuable experience in task management and communications.”
This year, the “‘Thopia Boys,” a team made up of a pair of AFS students and a few of their friends, took the championship. Although this is the third year the team played in the tournament, they were the underdogs going into the final championship match. They triumphed over a team of alumni whose earlier, devastatingly decisive wins in the tournament seemed assured to propel them to ultimate victory.
“In the end, I think everyone was glad to see the ‘Thopia Boys win,” Gray said. “It was such a great day for a good cause that the win left everyone feeling happy.”