On the morning of Sunday, October 18^th, the FTHS Cheerleading Team left behind their pom-poms on the football field, laced up their best walking shoes, and headed for Point Pleasant Beach to participate in the annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk. These wonderful events are community-based walk-a-thons with teams of walkers who strive to raise large sums of money. With that being said, it is an inspiring opportunity to honor those who have battled breast cancer, promote awareness, and raise money to combat the disease with research, information, and services.

Although not all of the teammates were able to take part in the walk-a-thon that day, each and every cheerleader contributed, overall raising an  impressive $3,760 in donations.  The day of the walk, a majority of the team spent their time supporting the community and having such a fun and memorable experience as well! In fact, one of Township’s senior cheer captains, Cassidy Gormley, gave positive feedback of the event, stating, “The breast cancer walk was so much fun and it felt really good knowing my friends and I were raising money for a good cause.”

Not only Cassidy, but the rest of the FTHS Cheerleaders who attended this walk, all left with smiling faces. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk was a complete success, and couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of our very own cheerleaders! These girls worked extremely hard to raise such a generous amount of money and all deserve sincere recognition for their help in this community effort! Bravo to the FTHS Cheer team!

Ms. Kuban, the cheerleading advisor, generously took her time to provide some more incite about the cheerleader’s participation!

What made the cheer team want to participate in this type of event?

Every year the cheer team tries to participate in some type of charity event. The walk is always a fun time and a great cause!

Was this the first type of community service activity that the cheer team was involved in?

Yes, for this year.

About how many of the FTHS cheerleaders showed up?

Fifteen girls showed up to the event!

How did you raise the money?

We raised the money by sharing the donation link with family and friends through email and other social media sites including Twitter. Some parents also shared the link with their colleagues at their workplace.

What was your original goal?

Our original goal was $1,000.

How much money in total did the team raise?

Overall we raised a total of $3,760.

What feedback did you receive from the team after attending the walk?

The team had a fabulous time! They loved stunting on the beach and meeting up with other cheer teams! They also had a great time dancing with the DJ.

Other than raising the money, what other positive outcomes resulted from this service.

It was a wonderful bonding experience for the team and a nice break to socialize outside of practice!

What is your own personal opinion about the event?

I am extremely proud that we were able to raise such a substantial amount of money for the cause. Kudos to Lindsey George for raising a whopping $2500 on her own! She was the star fundraiser of our team! Making Strides ran a great event and we can’t wait to participate again next year!

Would the cheer team consider participating in something similar to this in the future?           

We absolutely will!