Perkiomen School students hold ‘Orangeout’ at boys’ basketball games as they rally around ailing classmate
“The basketball guys are the big men on campus,” a staff member said. “And for them to embrace this like they have, it was pretty cool.”
Students and faculty at the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg usually gather three days a week in the auditorium for a morning meeting.
Their discussion is often about birthdays, school activities, and the results of sports events from the day before. In early December, however, the students got a shock. They learned that a classmate has a life-threatening illness.
“It got quiet extremely fast because we all knew it was a serious matter,” said Keeshawn Kellman, a senior on the boys' basketball team. “I was in disbelief."
Since then, Perkiomen School, an independent boarding and day school with about 350 students in grades 6 through 12, has rallied around the student, who has asked not to be identified and the nature of the illness not to be disclosed. Part of the support resulted in the students and staff creating and selling orange T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “No One Fights Alone.”
On Friday, the Panthers boys’ basketball team wore the T-shirts as warm-ups before a 78-56 victory over visiting Lawrenceville, and the bleachers were packed with spectators decked out in orange. The shirts were also on sale, and the proceeds are to go to the classmate’s family.
“We have [the classmate’s] back,” said coach Tom Baudinet. He said he wanted the public and the classmate to know that the team and school support the family and are thinking about their friend.
“Just keep fighting,” Baudinet said.
The school streamed Friday’s victory on YouTube so the classmate could see the team and the crowd decked out in the special orange T-shirts.
“I’m so happy" the classmate was able to see the display of affection, junior forward Sam Corrao said. Corrao said he wanted the student and family to know that they are thought about by everyone at the school "every single day.”
The students and staff also wore the orange T-shirts as a sign of support on “dress-down day” in early December and flooded the hallways with a sea of orange. The basketball team wore them for the first time as warm-ups before a 37-35 loss to the Hun School on Dec. 15.
During that game, the classmate watched from the hospital on an iPad.
Pete Dougherty, a teacher and adviser at Perkiomen, said that, while the classmate is not a huge basketball fan, the family has been delighted to watch the “Orangeout games” online and has been touched by the outpouring of concern.
“The basketball guys are the big men on campus,” Dougherty said. “And for them to embrace this like they have, it was pretty cool.”