The Ball Gives Life club will be hosting a 5 v 5 basketball tournament on April 9 at 2pm in the fieldhouse to raise money for type 1 diabetes research.

The club chose the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF, in honor of the Marcus Sipiera, chemistry teacher, whose daughter was recently diagnosed.

“All of the proceeds are going to go to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. We try to get as much money as possible by having each member of the teams pay $5,” Dani Pereira, junior and Ball Gives Life officer, said. “We know everyone loves basketball, so it’s a good way to do something for charity.”

To raise money for the cure, Ball Gives Life is also selling shirts, charging spectators, and offering a 3 point shooting contest for $10 a person.

However, this is not the first time that students have stepped up to raise money for Diabetes research in honor of Sipiera’s daughter.

“The AP chem students decided to raise money to donate in his daughter’s honor. They made shirts and [even] got one for Sipiera and [his daughter],” Periera said. “On his birthday, we decorated the room and everyone walked in in the shirts and had a party. He got really emotional and liked it a lot.”

In total, the AP Chemistry students raised $750 off of the shirts and a

sponsorship from All Creatures Animal Hospital thanks to Emma Root, junior employee at the hospital and designer of the shirt.

“My family was in the hospital with me during my [long term hospital stay in 8th grade], so I knew how hard it was going to be on his family,” Root said. “So I designed a shirt for the AP chem students to buy. We donated the profit to JDRF in honor of his daughter.”

Students can continue to support the cause during the tournament through donations and an entry fee at the tournament on Sunday.