The Wellington C. Mepham High School girls’ varsity soccer team hosted its annual Pediatric Cancer Awareness game Sept. 19, with the boys’ varsity team following Sept. 30.
The tradition began four years ago with sisters Camryn and Cayden Volpe, who formerly played for Mepham’s soccer team. Their efforts launched what has become a meaningful community fundraiser, inspired by their family’s own connection to the cause.
Carson Volpe, a sophomore at Mepham, is battling pediatric cancer, and the game has been held in honor of the Volpe family for the past three years. Both Volpe sisters have graduated, but the team has kept the fundraiser alive.
This year, the event carried a deeper meaning. Senior Joseph Maroney, a member of Mepham’s lacrosse team, recently experienced a relapse in his cancer battle. As a result, the fundraiser was dedicated to supporting both the Volpe and Maroney families, bringing together teammates, families, the community, and the school.
Girls’ soccer coach Janine Bizelia said the cause is close to her heart because of the relationships she has built with her students and their families. Along with assistant coach Taylor Hayes, who also teaches physical education and health, the two created the fundraising game.
“She has and had all the kids of the Volpe family, Carson and the sisters in school, and we just both felt like it was important,” Bizelia said. “Being that September is in our fall season, it is pediatric cancer month, and we had a direct relationship, hit our team, you know, a family member.”
The boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, along with parents and faculty, organized a fundraiser at Riko’s Pizza in Merrick and sold T-shirts and bracelets throughout the community. Hayes sold shirts to every faculty member at Mepham and at Grand Avenue Middle School, which the Volpe brothers attended.
“We raised over $5,000 for the families,” Bizelia said. “In past years, the fundraising game featured concession stands with snacks such as chips and pretzels, along with donations from Philly Pretzels. This year, the girls’ varsity team continued the tradition by selling juice and bottled water, with all proceeds contributing to the cause.”
In the weeks leading up to the game, members of the girls’ varsity team sold shirts across the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and surrounding neighborhoods.
“They realized that it was for a great thing, and I feel like even the community in general, whether people bought shirts outside of Mepham, Calhoun, Kennedy, or Grand,” Bizelia said. “They just went into the neighborhood, and some people wanted to contribute and help out because it’s sad to see and feel, you know, that a child has to go through that.”
Although Calhoun defeated the Mepham girls’ team 2-1 in the fundraising match, players understood the day was about far more than the score. The game was dedicated to supporting the Maroney and Volpe families while raising awareness during Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.
Bizelia reflected on the players’ perspective.
“It was more about [their] right,” she said. “[They’re] able to be out here running around playing the sport [they] love when, you know, Carson’s favorite thing is soccer, and he can’t play it anymore... sometimes things are bigger in life than winning a game.”
The Mepham players wore yellow in honor of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, while Calhoun players showed support with yellow pre-wrap. Both joined in the effort to raise funds and awareness for the families.
Bizelia emphasized that the effort was about more than money.
“We hope, and the thing that we kept saying was, as a team and as coaches, we can raise all the money we want, we just wish that instead of giving them this big lump sum of money, we could have given them a cure, and they know it too,” she said.
From yellow gear to the overwhelming turnout, the games underscored how powerful a cause greater than the game itself can bring a community together.
“At the end of the day, we just continue to pray for them and hopefully they are back and as healthy as all our players are one day,” Bizelia said.
