Students, faculty shoot hoops for Manna House

ABERDEEN — Faculty and students will both have the chance to shoot from the foul line during the Dec. 9 third annual Student/Faculty Charity Basketball Game at Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School.

"We already have a large number of students who have signed up for the game," said event coordinator and Willow Tree Club adviser Jessica Segui. "We are supporting Manna House in Keyport and the giving tree program at the Matawan United Methodist Church again this year."

The Willow Tree Club, Segui said, is a group that focuses on substance abuse prevention programs.

"We promote leading lives without influence from alcohol, tobacco and drugs. We focus on natural highs, such as playing basketball," Segui said. "A club like this is so important at the middle school level because the pressures become so high and they only intensify in high school."

According to Segui, the game started two years ago after the group attended a conference.

"We decided to hold a basketball game where the faculty and the student body could partake in some friendly competition," Segui explained. "We didn't want people to have to pay to get in at the door, so they have to bring a new, unopened toy that we would donate later. We had 500 toys donated that first year and we never anticipated that."

Segui said that she coordinates the event with wrestling coach Charlie Marsh.

"Everyone has such a great time. The teachers had a blast and it was something healthy and fun for the kids to get involved with," Segui said. "Coach [Marsh] organizes the games, which are made up of teams of five, the teachers rotate, and they are three minutes long. We make it round-robin style so we can accommodate the number of students we have that sign up."

According to Segui, 200 people attended the event last year and more and more teachers are signing up.

"It is such a fun evening, and even our superintendent said he would participate," Segui said. "It is great when the teachers and staff get involved with the students for an event like this."

The third annual Student/Faculty Charity Basketball Game will be held Dec. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the new gym at the Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School. Admission is a new, unwrapped toy for a child of any age.