It was a heartfelt game played in the name of healthy hearts.

The second annual Hoops for Hearts fundraiser culminated in a basketball game that pitted some Fair Haven police and Fire Department members in a friendly, healthy competition against sixth and seventh graders at Knollwood School. The fundraiser was a success, resulting more than $17,000 in donations to the American Heart Association.

Aptly played during  American Heart Month, the relatively new traditional event was, as with last year’s, organized by Knollwood School Physical Education and Health teacher Kim Lagrotteria. This year all of the seventh-graders joined the entire sixth-grade class in Hoops for Hearts fundraising activities prior to the game.

The participating players and cheerleaders from both grades were students in the physical education classes that had the highest levels of fundraising success.

Participating students set personal fundraising and physical education goals, and also played in basketball tournaments during regular Physical Education classes. Students in other grades also donated funds to help far exceed the original goal of $10,000.

The game was refereed by Knollwood School physical education teacher Kevin Lydon. Principal Amy Romano joined in the fun by playing along with the students. True to her promise that she would once again dress in costume if students exceeded the fundraising goal, Lagrotteria attended the Feb. 5 tournament dressed as a dalmatian as did health teacher Joelle Bagley.

The Half-Court Challenge, a free throw contest for students making donations to the American Heart Association, was also featured at halftime during both games.

“They do an amazing job, this is wonderful,” said American Heart Association Representative Andrea Mrusek. “Fair Haven is a great community with terrific school spirit. It’s really nice that the students can get involved with this event in so many different ways.”

Local police and fire celebrities donating their time were:  firefighters Matt Bufano and John Cariero and Deputy Fire Chief Tim Morrisey, of the Fair Haven Fire Department; and patrolmen Christian Hostrup, William Lagrotteria, Dwayne Reevey, Detective Stephen Schnieder, and Lt. Robert Townshend, of the Fair Haven Police Department.

“The Hoops for Hearts fundraiser brought an extraordinary amount of pride to our students,” said Romano, who was named Principal of Knollwood School this past December and experienced the event for the first time. “Not only did we receive an enormous outpouring of donations well over our goal, the students were overjoyed with their efforts.”

— Edited press release from Fair Haven School District