This year’s Swoosh for Change game is looking a little different from past years. Typically, the event consists of a basketball game where a team of teachers faces a team of Morgan students in a heated matchup. The game brings out a competitive spirit in all parties participating and creates a ton of hype in the Morgan Community. Student government typically donates the revenue to a charity.
This year, a change to the rules was made, in order to allow members of the Morgan basketball teams, to play on the student team. This change was made in hopes of breaking the long-standing winning streak of the faculty team. The event is also taking place after basketball season, freeing up the schedules of players. The proceeds will be divided up, with half going to the Class of 2024, and half going to the Shoreline Soup Kitchens and Pantries. In past years, the entire profit has been given to charity, but since the Class of 2024 is helping with the event, the profits will be split. In a continued tradition, the students will be in white, and the staff will be in blue. The student shirts have been kindly donated by world language teacher, Senora Luther.
The event will take place on March 28th, at 6:00 pm, and teams will be coached by seniors from our very own basketball teams. Kolby Clifton, Jack Nye and Maeve Madura will be coaching the faculty team. The student team will be coached by Ava Johnson, Mason Krott, and Ryan Donadio.
The event was first started by the class of 2014, alongside English teacher Laurie Fasulo, in 2012. Students PaulMichael Mullaly and Elizabeth Bradley came up with the idea. In a 2013 article, Elizabeth Bradley discussed the process of coming up with the event, “We needed a school-wide event that united the community and local businesses and gave back to a cause in need. Swoosh for Change not only unites students and staff but is an exciting event that gets everyone pumped and full of school spirit.” Going into the event, the founders had few expectations, but when over 200 people showed up to support, the event was a huge success. The proceeds benefitted KONY, a non-profit organization that works to build sustainable communities in Africa. This success solidified that the event would become an annual Morgan tradition. The very next year, the revenue more than doubled. Upon graduation, Elizabeth, PaulMichael, and Mrs.Fasulo passed on the running of the event, to the Student Leadership Society. In their final year of Swoosh for Change, the students started a campaign to bring out community spirit. The campaign would become a pillar of Morgan pride.
After starting the We Are Morgan Campaign PaulMichael said “The chemistry in this building is phenomenal. It’s not your stereotypical bitter-high school environment. The resilience and pride the teachers demonstrate for the students and vice versa is invaluable. We Are Morgan is simply a celebration of who we are as a school, community, and family.” The campaign helped to bring the community together surrounding the event, and has become a fundamental part of what it means to be a Morgan husky.
The event now sells concessions, raffle tickets, and customized merchandise, features a student halftime and national anthem performance, and a half-court shot contest. Over the years the event has become a key event in the Morgan community and continues to grow in success with each year.
Kim • Mar 23, 2024 at 11:58 am
Awesome to learn about the history behind this great tradition!