BHS Senior Raises $1,500 to Fight Cancer

senior Ben Greiner recently held a tennis tournament for his senior project at the County Road tennis courts to raise money for cancer research.

Last fall when ideas for senior projects were being contemplated, students were told to consider activities and projects that were of interest to them. Greiner combined his passion for tennis with his interest in science and desire to find a cure for cancer through research and developed his senior project around both. The first task was to select an outside advisor, and he was able to get family friend and local tennis pro Nancy Grimes to agree to help with the project. Thus the planning for “A Rally Against Cancer” was born.

The goals were simple: raise as much money for cancer research as possible, and involve as many people as possible in the process. A tournament was planned and as the word spread, there was a big response from people who wanted to participate in one way or another. There were some people who simply made donations, while others chose to participate in the actual tennis tournament. There were others, still, who chose to donate in other ways. Two Bedford High sophomores, Jack Gorham and Jillian Kossack, who have a small baking business, donated baked goods and water to be sold at the tournament to raise money for the cause. stepped up as a corporate sponsor of the event and donated money to the event as well as provide some gift certificates to be used as prizes. Others helped out by handling registration, taking photos, and selling food, water, and wrist bracelets made for the tournament.

After months of planning and preparation, Sunday, May 6 rolled around and several dozen tournament participants had signed up and were ready to play. Included in those were cancer survivors and people who had friends and family touched by cancer. Indeed, this was an important event on many levels. As word of the event spread through word of mouth and on Facebook, participants from as far away as Chester and Bow showed up that morning to play in the tournament.  In all, there were five different divisions: middle school-aged boys as well as girls; high school boys as well as girls; and an over 18 section as well. After six hours of tennis, there were winners in each of them.

Greiner had decided that he wanted the funds raised to go to the American Cancer Society because of their commitment and effort related to finding a cure for cancer. As a four-year member of BHS boys tennis team, he chose to present the money raised at the tournament to the American Cancer Society right before one of his home matches in Bedford. When asked what the most important part of “A Rally Against Cancer” was, Ben’s response was simple, “to raise money.”

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