What happens when high school students and a special education class team up? You get a full-court press for a great cause.
This April, Jamesville-DeWitt is celebrating Autism Acceptance Month with a new event: Hoops for Acceptance. The 3-on-3 basketball tournament is a special collaboration between J-D High School students and the district’s elementary special education classroom, the Tecumseh Learning Pad.
The tournament tips off on Thursday, April 9, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the high school’s main gym. To ensure everyone feels welcome, the event will be sensory-friendly. That means there will be no loud whistles or buzzers, creating an inclusive environment.
The tournament will feature co-ed teams of students in grades 7-12. The community is invited to cheer on the athletes for a $5 spectator fee, while player entry is $10 (Venmo and cash are both accepted). For those looking to get in on the action, halftime games will be open to everyone for just $1 per participant. To further support the cause, the J-D Booster Club will host concessions and donate proceeds to the fundraiser. A Learning Pad Lemonade Stand will also be open.
Every dollar raised during Hoops for Acceptance will go directly toward the Tecumseh Learning Pad’s 13th annual Lemonade Stand fundraiser. Stands will be available to students and staff at all school buildings, the Transportation Department, and the District Office this week. The Tecumseh Elementary School stand will be hosted on Friday, April 10.
To prepare for the fundraiser, the 12:1+(3:1) special education classroom students and their peers have been busy preparing hundreds of lemonade bottle kits and creating Autism acceptance pins.
The stand raised more than $10,000 last year, and The Learning Pad hopes to break their record again. All money raised will be distributed between the Central New York Autism Society of America and ARISE Adaptive Design.