It was a chance to throw a ball at a teacher, coach, counselor or peer and not be thrown into ISS for the action.

A sizable portion of the campus gathered after school Friday, Nov. 18 in the gym to participate in, or watch, the Dodgeball for Africa Tournament.

“We really [wanted] to get our entire school and community involved and excited about this event,” said senior Noah Koehler, one of the Peer Leaders who organized this community change project, which will benefit UNICEF.

In turn, the $600 raised for UNICEF will go toward the purchase of 700 vaccines, 7 vaccine carriers and 70 mosquito nets, an important precaution used to prevent mosquito-borne diseases in Africa. That’s $400 more than organizers had hoped to raise.

Greg Euchner, an English II teacher who was a member of the English Department’s team, said, “It’s a good cause and I wanted to help my teammates.”

In total, 15 teams composing of seven to eight students, teachers, coaches and counselors participated; in the end, the team representing the school’s wrestling squad won the title.

When a player was hit, the crowd expressed disappointment and when a team won, it cheered and celebrated along with them. Throughout the games, buckets for donations were passed around and spectators were eager to contribute.

Dodgeball for Africa also resulted in a sense of teamwork between many Peer Leader groups.

Students in Peer Leadership were there to support each other as well. Referees Naia Isabelle and Doug Alfidi roamed the gym floor, monitoring the players.

Students also worked the sign-in booth, kept track of the teams, and walked the stands for donations as music boomed throughout the gym.

“Our whole community-based idea of Peer Leadership is to be integrated into each others community change projects,” said Micah Hall, a senior. “[We are also doing it] to help the children in Africa because they all honestly need it.”

Mikas Grewal, another senior involved in Peer Leadership, adds, “It’s part of what we do — to give back to [other Peer Leadership groups] for helping me is to just help them out and I love to do that.”