By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
More than 200 people in Hillsborough signed up for more than just comfort food on Thanksgiving last month when friends and families took to the gridiron in support of Chris Koll, a 14 year-old boy battling leukemia.
For two hours during the holiday usually reserved for turkey, pumpkin pie and family gatherings, teams vied for the top of the Jr. Raiders Flag Football Tournament, which raised $3,500 for the Koll family.
“The Kolls are the most wonderful family,” the event’s organizer, Lynn O’Kane said. “Chris’ mom does a lot of volunteer work for Steps Together and Chris is just a really, really, really nice boy.”
Chris, a freshman at Hillsborough High School, was diagnosed back in May with a cancer of the blood that affects the body’s auto-immune system known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Ms. O’Kane said Chris has always been a physically active youth since he first played with the Jr. Raiders at five years old. Since leaving the league, he still plays football but has since branched out into lacrosse as well.
After learning of his diagnosis, she said the recreational league has spent most of its season trying to raise funds to support the Koll family.
“Throughout the season this year…we had done smaller efforts at concession stands and at various places throughout Hillsborough, so we did raise money for the family that way as well,” she said. “The family are just very humble people and this is very sad that this is happening to them.”
During the tournament and fundraiser, participants split up into teams and played games from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Triangle Complex. Adults joined in on the fun after a $10 registration fee, while children were able to participate after a $5 registration fee.
Ms. O’Kane said additional donations were also collected from attendees as they registered for the tournament.
With this being the first event of its kind for the Jr. Raiders, Ms. O’Kane said she was surprised by the turnout, especially after having only a few weeks since its creation near the end of October.
“It was a really nice morning and a really nice way for the community to come together on Thanksgiving and remember what that holiday was all about,” she said. “I was more than overwhelmed with the generosity of the community…it was like ‘wow, there are good people in this world.’”
One of the goals of the event, Ms. O’Kane said, was to create a community-based experience for everyone involved. Concessions were sold on site, but some homemade treats and beverages were also on hand for everyone at the event.
“I can’t imagine what the turnout would be if I started planning it in September,” she joked.
By the end of the day, Ms. O’Kane said she learned just how dedicated the community was to helping Chris and his family get through a difficult time in their lives.
“A lot of people know the family and I think Hillsborough in general is a generous community,” she said. “People were just asking what they could do to help. I had more people asking to help than I had jobs for them to do. It was unbelievable.”
Despite the surprising turnout and the sudden success that the Jr. Raiders Flag Football Tournament was, Ms. O’Kane said the recreational football league has not plans at the moment to host a similar event next year.
“I’ve been approached by several people do it again,” she said. “It was such a great turnout that I probably wouldn’t be able to say no.”
