Students, athletes, faculty and staff at the Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beach rallied in support of the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines by collecting food, clothing and other supplies throughout the month of November.
The independent high school launched a collection the day after the storm hit the Philippines to help those left without food or shelter.
The varsity girls basketball team contributed to the effort by organizing a “Hoops for Help” donation drive at its season opener Nov. 24. Led by nationally ranked player Crystal Primm, team manager Sydney Bailey and coach Terry Primm, the program offered free admission to the back-to-back girls and boys varsity basketball games in exchange for canned food, clothing or other supplies.
Varsity football captain Steven Demeo, varsity soccer captain Christine Creighton and student-athletes from other sports and clubs helped spread the word, and the result was a packed gymnasium of fans cheering for the Thunderwolves and contributing to the cause.
The collection from Hoops for Help was added to the school’s campus-wide drive, which was organized by the Key Club and faculty members Kate Kilian and Cheryl Kalokerinos. Hundreds of bags of donations were loaded into a truck by the Thunderwolves football team and delivered to the Aboitiz Foundation for freight to the Philippines.
“Oxbridge students are known for many things right now — from taking a first-year varsity team to a GAFC championship win, to competing in computer science competitions at the University of Pennsylvania,” said student Steven Berkner, who wrote about the program on WolfWeekly.com, Oxbridge’s student-run web site. “Now we’re trying to show that being afforded all these amazing opportunities isn’t enough. We need to make sure that others who aren’t as fortunate have a hot meal every day, too.”
The Oxbridge Academy Key Club and girls basketball team are teaming up again in December to collect new, unwrapped toys to benefit the Toys for Tots program.
Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches is located at 3151 North Military Trail. For more information, visit www.oapb.org or call (561) 972-9600.
