HILLSBOROUGH: ‘Hoops 4 Heart’ raises $11,528

   Students, faculty and staff at Hillsborough Middle School raised a record-breaking $11,528.24 for the American Heart Association in the national March Madness “Hoops 4 Heart” event.
   The entire school student body participated in the event during their physical education classes. Students raised money by reaching out to friends and family members for donations.
   Alexandra Benadon, a 7th grader, was the top fundraiser; she brought in $2,125. Chris Ciccone was the second biggest, with a total of $825.
   HMS has participated in this fundraising since 2010.
   ”Our school takes great pride in its yearly involvement because the program provides students with the opportunity to set and achieve philanthropic fund-raising goals while also giving students a chance to work on their basketball skills,” said Richard Rosenblum, “Hoops 4 Heart” coordinator and physical education teacher.
   The event was scheduled as a precursor to the NCAA basketball tournament. Students collected donations that qualified them to become players on 168 teams.
   The tournament came down to a 64-team, 5-on-5 “March Madness-style” event in all gym classes. Earning bragging rights as the winning team was “The Purple Chinchillas, made up of 8th graders Jacob Lubas, Pat Cahill, Brandon Beck, Mike Ricciardi, Ryan Watson and Eric Ross.
   Each finalist of the Elite 8 bracket was going to get a small token of appreciation from Mr. Rosenblum. The winning team and all finalists surprised the school’s Adaptive Physical Education students who participated in the final round with those prizes.
   ””The money earned by HMS students will be donated to the American Heart Association, an organization that funds research, programs, and education to fight heart disease and stroke.