On Wednesday June 20, the seventh grade AE students at Maple Point Middle School will host a “Help the Howies Dodge Cancer” dodge ball tournament to raise money for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation.

The tournament is being held in the Maple Point gym and cafeteria from 6 to 9 pm. The cost to particpate in the tournament is $5 and $2 to come watch. Other funds are being raised through concessions, games, raffles, and bracelets and charms are also being sold. A majority of the money raised will be donated to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation and a portion of the funds will go to the Howie family who spend a lot of money traveling to receive cancer treatment.

As a part of their curriculum, the AE students were required to complete a community service project. According to Sammi Covell, Craig Klevan, and Holden Stewart, three AE students who helped organize the event, the 7th grade AE students were inspired by their teacher “who is fighting cancer along with her husband.”

Their teacher, Jennifer Howie, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Her husband, Dennis Howie who teaches English at the High School, is fighting pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.

“I am so proud of my students. They have been working so hard on this event since day one.” Howie said. “ This has become so much more than a fundraiser to me. It is their way of showing how much they care about me as a person, not just a teacher. I want to thank each and every one of them for showing me why I became a teacher so many years ago.”

The charity, Caring for Carcinoid Foundation (CFCF), works to discover cures for carcinoid cancer, pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer, and related neuroendocrine cancers. It also works to ease and eliminate the suffering of patients, families and caregivers affected by neuroendocrine cancer.

According to caringforcarcinoid.org, CFCF “Directs 100% of all individual donations to fund breakthrough scientific research of carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors.”

“It is a very good cause,” Covell, Klevan, and Stewart said.

Additionally, “I would like to thank Mr. Dave Martys for all his hard work and planning. He teaches academic enrichment with me at Maple Point. If it weren’t for him, none of this would be happening,” Howie said.

The AE students hope that their tournament will become an annual event.