Allegheny College may be a small liberal arts school in Meadville, PA, but our spirit is big, especially when it involves service and action to raise awareness and work toward solutions. When I was approached by Rev. Sarah Daniels Roncolato of Grace United Methodist church in class about the Nothing But Nets campaign, there was not a doubt in my mind that Allegheny College could make an impact on this effort. Rev. Roncolato set up a small meeting where we formulated ideas of ways that our school could make an impact, and out of this meeting was the idea to have a faculty and staff basketball game. At the time, we did not know how much work would be involved in this project, but we were willing to take on the challenge because we believed in the sprit of Allegheny, and I am so glad that we did not give up.
On March 10th Allegheny College came together for the first annual Allegheny Nothing But Nets Faculty and Staff Basketball Game. With representation from campus organizations ranging from residence life, Greek life, athletics, dance teams, service fraternities, administration, faculty and staff, together we cheered as our English professors took on the women’s assistant basketball coach and the Dean of Students challenged the men’s assistant basketball coach. The President of the College, Richard Cook, teamed up with the men’s and women’s basketball team to raise a total of 44 nets during the half-time performance. But the game would not have been a success without the student fans – students could donate money to raise the score; two dollars raised the score two points. By the last buzzer, the Gold team had clenched victory with 452 points while the Blue team had 449 points.
This game was a great way to bring the entire school together to create change. And in total, we raised $2,385 for Nothing But Nets – that’s over 200 bed nets that will prevent children from dying of malaria!
This project has instilled within me hope for the future and has encouraged me to continue working toward change. The relationships I have formed with people on campus and within the community as a result of working on this project have been such a blessing. I am excited about the possibilities that are to come as a result of NothingBbut Nets starting up on our campus. The faculty and staff basketball game was the “tip off” event and in one year Allegheny has its heart set on raising $25,000 – equivalent to one net per student. We are well on our way toward that goal so stay tuned!
