On October 21, the Pink Heals game between our volleyball team, and their rivals Joliet West. Unfortunately, the game was held at West because we switch off every year, so the crowd wasn’t exactly full of steelmen. This game brought awareness to those who are survivors of cancer.  The money that was raised by selling t-shirts, the entry to the game, 50/50 raffle, raffle bags and the pink wall tags all go to the Pink Heals Foundation. Between the two schools we raised $10,000 for the Pink Heals foundation! There was a survivor’s parade before the varsity game to showcase the strong men and women who fought hard and won their battle against cancer. Each of the survivors were walked around the gym by a varsity athlete from both teams. To start the game off, the two teams met up at the net to exchange a gift with another player. This gift was a little bottle of pink nail polish. The starting lineup for the varsity game was Hana Cromer, Shelby Fischer, Mari Morales, Ashley Hare, Danielle Grigoletti and Jicara Tate. Joliet West had a group called “The Wild West” and they sang the Star Spangled Banner. “The Wild West” was also a big cheering section that tried to compete with our Steelmen cheering section which consisted of our freshman teams, family, friends, and students who were able to make it out. They were led in their cheering by the JV girls. Anyone in the gym could point out the tension between the two schools, but it was all for a good cause and ended up being fun. “This is always an emotional game. It makes you remember lost loved ones who unfortunately lost their battles with cancer. However, anticipation for the game leads to excitement! Playing West is always exciting.” Says coach Bambule. For anyone who doesn’t know, the main reason we have these pink heals games is because of a woman named Peg Bryan. She was a very caring woman who not only volunteered her time to Central volleyball, but helped out around the school in any way she could. She helped start the Connie Bryan award, which is a scholarship given to a Central Volleyball player who has had volleyball as a main part in their life.  She is sorely missed.  She put her heart and soul into this yearly pink heals game. Also Addison Locke is a big part in this. She is athletic director Steve Locke’s daughter, who passed away last year of liver cancer.  Pink Heals was the foundation in Joliet that really helped the Locke family during their hard times. As you may have seen, many of our athletes here at Central have ladybugs on their shirts and warm-ups. The ladybug is a symbol of remembrance of Addison. Overall the pink heals game was successful for the cause even though our lady steelmen didn’t end up on top in the end.