Jenks clubs dodge balls to fend off hunger
BY SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Friday, November 16, 2012
11/16/12 at 8:05 AM
It seemed that nothing could stop the Spanish Club from taking this year's dodgeball championship trophy Thursday at Jenks High School.
"We did kind of dominate," said Trent Taber, a junior and member of the Spanish Club's winning dodgeball team.
The Spanish Club's six-member team, wearing shirts with the words "Keep Calm and Dodge" across the front, easily played through the bracket to get to the championship match with the National Honor Society's team.
"NHS gave us our best match of the day," junior Garrett Patterson said.
The dodgeball tournament, now in it's sixth year, isn't just entertainment for the high school students. It's a reward for classes and students who collect food items and donations for the Jenks Community Food Bank.
Jenks' DECA club hosts the tournament every year, and 60 of the club's more than 200 members organized this year's games.
The four top-collecting student clubs, as well as two wild card teams, filled the bracket to play. Classes that collected at least 30 cans were dismissed to fill the stands for the tournament. Students could also pay $3 to get to watch their classmates dodge it out, with all the proceeds going to the food bank.
DECA's faculty adviser, Liz Wright, who also serves on the food bank's board, said this year the tournament raised more than $2,600 and collected about 1,400 food items for the nonprofit organization.
The high school's Student Council also raised $10,000 for the Jenks Community Food Bank.
"The school has taken the food bank under its wing this year," Wright said.
Taber said the dodgeball tournament is a fun way to give back.
"It's awesome. It's all for a good cause," said Taber, who added that the Spanish Club collected more than 100 cans of food for a chance to play for the traveling trophy.
The Jenks Community Food Bank, which operates out of a 700-square-foot house, serves about 100 families a month who live in the Jenks school district, Wright said.
"We rely on food drives from the schools," she said. The food bank is also in the process of raising funds to construct a larger, much-needed facility.
Danny Jackson, DECA's vice president, said she knows how much the food and donations are needed after volunteering at the food bank.
"We see how small the place is and what they have to deal with," she said. "I had no idea how many people they help on a Saturday and how much food they need."
This was Jackson's second year to help organize the dodgeball event.
"It's a lot of fun, but kind of hectic," she said.
Although the tournament benefits a worthy cause and is always a good time, it's still a competition.
"You want to win," said Patterson, who also was on the winning team his sophomore year. "It's a lot of fun."
Original Print Headline: Jenks clubs dodge balls to fend off hunger
Sara Plummer 918-581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Junior Trent Taber competes for the Spanish Club team in the sixth annual Charity Dodgeball Tournament at Jenks High School on Thursday. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
Kahyman Gray competes for the American Sign Language Club in the sixth annual Charity Dodgeball Tournament at Jenks High School on Thursday. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
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