Colgate Unites for Tennis Tournament<\/p>\n
(Hamilton, NY \u2013 May 2013) \u00a0Led by rookie Lexi Lazares, the Colgate women\u2019s tennis team will be hosting an on campus mixed doubles tournament fundraiser in honor of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old who died in the Boston Marathon tragedy.<\/p>\n
The fundraiser is open to everyone in the Hamilton community, especially Colgate students on campus. The event takes place Thursday May 2 at 4 p.m. on the J.W. Abrahamson Memorial Courts, or Sanford Field House in case of rain.<\/p>\n
All the proceeds go to the Neighborhood House Charter School, which was Martin\u2019s school in Dorchester, Mass. According to the website, the school was founded in 1995 and provides a better educational option for low-income Boston families. The school has an enrollment of 400 students and is one of the most sought-after pre-K-8 public schools in the city.<\/p>\n
The money raised next week goes to the school in Martin\u2019s name to offer more children the chance to get a quality education and to succeed anywhere, which is the school\u2019s philosophy.<\/p>\n
Lazares said the response around campus and the community has been amazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy teammates and I have done only one booth session because of Patriot League Championships last week, but in just two hours we made around $900,\u201d she said. \u201cI went around telling people what I was doing and everyone was very excited and supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reaction has translated into many teams participating on Thursday. As of Monday, Lazares had 35 teams already signed up to compete and has been at it for only a week. The teams range from students and professors to athletics staff and community members.<\/p>\n
Each team makes a $12 donation to participate and with an extra $10 given, they are entered into a raffle for four seats to an upcoming Boston Red Sox game, which has been given by a generous corporate donor. That donor will also be matching all the money raised. Local businesses are also getting involved as Olivieri\u2019s will be donating pizza for the event and Gilligan\u2019s Island of Sherburne is bringing some of its Raider Passion ice cream.<\/p>\n
Spectators can also donate at the event, while also enjoying tennis, live music and other games.<\/p>\n
A Milton, Mass., native, Lazares had a special connection with Richard as she was his tutor\/mentor at the school. She worked with him and the other second graders in Rachel Moo\u2019s class during her senior year of high school. Lazares connected with Richard because she helped the children with speech and reading comprehension.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to connect with Martin because we worked really hard together on sounding out words and sentences,\u201d Lazares said. \u201cWe worked a lot 1-on-1 with group readings and other books that were assigned.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Colgate first-year student described Richard as the kid who always wanted to learn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very enthusiastic and I sometimes had to reel him in,\u201d Lazares said. \u201cHe was the type of kid that would speak up to his friends and tell them to settle down when I was trying to explain an assignment. He was a very respectful student, even though sometimes he was really energetic.\u201d<\/p>\n
She helped Martin with his poster that read, \u201cNo more hurting people, peace,\u201d that was distributed throughout the country and the world and was the focus of President Obama\u2019s speech about Martin at the memorial service. It was part of a class project about Ghandi\u2019s principle of ahimsa and non-violent protest. After making the posters, the class went to Boston and marched for peace at city hall.<\/p>\n
Lazares mentioned that his love of sports was always present.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wore a Red Sox jersey all the time with one of those magnetic necklaces some of the pitchers wore,\u201d Lazares mentioned. \u201cHe would run around during recess, play tag, football and basketball. He just really loved sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of his love of sports, Lexi came up with the idea for the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t think of a better way to commemorate his love for athletics than to host a fundraiser involving a sporting event,\u201d she said. \u201cI play tennis here at Colgate, so for me I knew that was the best way for me to help and make sure his memory will live on through a sport that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said it\u2019s been great to involve Colgate and women\u2019s tennis, while also getting the community rallied up for this because Martin was such an energetic kid and she would like others to feel that same passion this week out on the courts. Lazares also hopes this can be a permanent event in the years to come.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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