Baskets That Give Back

Jerome students host basketball tournament to raise money for medical research

By Claire McLean

Founded by five Dublin Jerome students, Crossovers for Cures has raised more than $20,000 for medical research. Avid basketball players Henry Guerrera, Dustin He, Drew Gunnoe, Aidan Eberhardt and Peter Hollern knew they could harness their passion for the sport to make a positive impact on the community.

The students, who have all played basketball at Jerome, knew a basketball tournament would engage the entire community. The only task they were left with was deciding which charity to support.

Gunnoe, a senior at Jerome, says he was inspired by his little brother Reid’s journey with epilepsy.

So, in July, Crossovers for Cures hosted its Elevate 4 Epilepsy event, which supports epilepsy research through a series of threeon-three basketball games. All proceeds from the tournament went toward Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) and epilepsy research. In addition to the games, the event also featured guest speaker Doug Worthington, a former NFL and The Ohio State University defensive tackle.

The event was a smashing success, as 70 teams and 266 players total signed up to play. Elevate 4 Epilepsy raised more than $20,000 for FACES, which strives to foster a supportive community for those affected by epilepsy. It attracted the attention of WSYX and was featured on ABC 6 and FOX 28.

“We did so well,” Guerrera says. “We had such a huge crowd of people that came out to support and watch, and people were so excited to participate. We also got a bunch of people who were disappointed that they missed out or couldn’t make it.”

Participants came from as close as Dublin to as far as Pickerington, all with the drive to support Crossovers for Cures.

“A very pleasant byproduct of Elevate 4 Epilepsy was the camaraderie and just coming together as a community to participate in such a great cause,” he says.

The students hope to expand Crossovers for Cures’ reach to other cities around the United States once they leave Dublin for college. Several of the students will graduate in the next few years, and they plan to pass their leadership roles down to their younger siblings, who will continue to host tournaments and foster community engagement.

“In the future, we’re looking at running smaller clinics for kids, again donating the funds to charity,” Guerrera says. “We are still going to try to stay engaged for as long as possible.”

Crossovers for Cures will be hosting more events in the future to support FACES. Event updates are available at www.crossoversforcures.org.

Claire McLean is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.