Dodgeball Tournament
In 2023, Keaton Wisniewski, an 8th grader at Van Hoosen Middle School raised a whopping $1,183 for Samsmile.
He was introduced to Samsmile by a close family friend, AJ Hayes, who is Sam’s former classmates and friend. AJ told him all about Sam and the impact he had on so many people.
Since Sam’s passing, AJ has been writing Sam’s old lacrosse number on tape to put on his helmet. He dedicates every game he plays to Sam.
Keaton saw an example in this and decided to follow in AJ’s footsteps. He began to put Sam’s initials on his helmet along with “988”, and which is the suicide hotline number.
AJ largely impacted Keaton’s mentality about mental health and prompted Keaton to want to make a difference for others.
Keaton wanted to engage his classmates in raising awareness about mental health and collecting funds to support mental health initiatives. He wanted to do something that everyone could participate in, like a sports game.
“I don’t want it [the event] to be too hard of a game, rather something everyone could enjoy,” Keaton said.
They finally decided on a dodgeball tournament. But his work wasn’t over. He proceeded to make flyers, advocated and sold tickets at lunch, and spoke about it in front of his class.
The last thing Keaton needed to do was determine the winner’s prize. He knew wanted to get something that was memorable.
He and his principal decided on a shield.
The day of the game was a great success and everyone had a blast. With the incredible turnout, Keaton knew that he didn’t want to stop this after just one year.
He spoke to his principal about making this an annual event and he agreed.
Keaton knew that he wanted the game to be dedicated to Samsmile each year going forward.