On Friday, February 25, the Joliet West Varsity and sophomore boys’ basketball teams played Sandburg in a tough game. Even though Sandburg beat them both, Joliet West was proud to say they helped find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. With the help of Ms. Dickinson, her students, the No Name Club, and the Joliet West Band, the boys’ basketball program was able to fundraise over $1500 in this event.

After watching a documentary on DMD, which is an inherited muscular disorder that involves rapidly worsening muscle weakness, Ms. Dickinson’s class was eager to host a fundraiser for this cause.

“The documentary was about a teenager, Darius Weems, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In the film, he travels across the country with a group of his friends in an attempt to get his wheelchair pimped on ‘Pimp My Ride.’ After watching the film, my English classes wanted to raise money to help find a cure for DMD,” said Dickinson.

At the game, the participants, including the No Name Club and the Joliet West Band, sold t-shirts, raffle tickets, and donated money from concession profits. Their efforts helped raise over $1500 that went towards Charley’s Fund, which will help find a cure for teenagers like Darius.

“Sandburg was a very talented and physical basketball team. We knew we had to play well to win but did not execute well enough to beat them,” Coach Yaklich said. The sophomores ended their game with a score of 35-25, which left them only down by ten by one of their toughest competitors. They may not have had the winning score, but throughout the game, they worked hard to keep up with Sandburg.

For the Varsity team, the ending score was even better. Only down by eight points, Coach Yaklich was able to say, “I am proud of our seniors for the hard work and effort they put into the season.”