Come celebrate the end of finals tomorrow at PHS in the main gym at 6:00 p.m. to watch Palatine’s Varsity Girl Basketball team play their rivals, the Fremd Vikings. It’s brain cancer awareness night, a community-wide fundraiser that will hopefully bring the whole town together to raise awareness for brain cancer.
“Competition brings people together, and hopefully we come together as one community to raise awareness for something that’s obviously not just taken the lives of people that are close to us and have impacted our communities,” head varsity coach Sarah Davis said.
Though Palatine is off to a rough start, they are coming off a win against Barrington. There will be shirts for sale for $15 and there will be raffle baskets and a Chuck-a-Duck to help fundraise money for the Kendal Nicole Eich Foundation.
The Palatine vs. Fremd matchup is an annual fundraising night that supports brain cancer awareness in our community. It began a few years ago and has grown into a yearly tradition focused on raising money for brain cancer and overall cancer awareness. Two very impactful stories have helped start this cause and continue to keep the fight strong.
Kendal Eich was a student and basketball player at Palatine High School. Sadly, she was diagnosed with glioblastoma at 30 years old. Glioblastoma is a type of tumor that is aggressive and grows fast in the brain. Many remember her as being positive and kind no matter the circumstance.
Eich’s death has inspired and helped many others, and it was her story that led to this event, leaving a tremendous impact on PHS.
Dave Yates was Fremd’s girls head varsity coach for years, and after a long fight, he passed away recently. His memory is still fresh and players from both teams still remember and honor him through this event.
Both of these stories have helped grow awareness in our community for cancer awareness. Their stories help countless others fight through their own journey of cancer. This Friday’s game continues to help as we raise money for others.
So come tomorrow night and help Palatine fight for something bigger than just us and represent our school and community.
“It’s life and it’s bigger than basketball,” Davis said.
