ROCKY GROVE, Pa. (EYT) – The Rocky Grove High School softball team hosted the “Bill Mook Memorial Game Day to Strike Out Cancer” on May 7 and raised $4,011.00 in donations.

The team donated $2,000.00 to the Kirtland Foundation and presented a check at his office on May 27. The other $2,000.00 went toward the Rocky Grove Booster Club.

Carrie Slocum, head coach of the Rocky Grove softball team, said the idea came about after participating in a double-header “Strike Out Cancer” benefit game with Maplewood High School last year.

After Bill Mook passed away, the Rocky Grove team decided to host its own benefit game and raised funds for the organizations listed in Mook’s obituary.

The Rocky Grove and Maplewood teams sold 445 “Bill Mook Memorial Game Day” t-shirts at $5.00 each and received donations and sponsorships from local individuals and businesses.

“Without our local businesses, we would have never raised this much money,” Slocum said. “Bill Mook was so popular and loved by so many people that everybody was willing to buy a t-shirt.”

Slocum said the Phillips family, who have two daughters on the Rocky Grove team, sold 100 t-shirts alone.

“I’m just basically grateful for my team and the hard work that they’ve put into this…Our community is great when it comes to supporting local events going on.”

Slocum said the “Strike Out Cancer” benefit games will hopefully become a tradition between the Rocky Grove and Maplewood teams in the years to come.

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