News and You: The Ben Banks Foundation Dodgeball Tournament

 Recently, you may have heard that a dodgeball tournament, hosted by the Ben Banks Foundation is going on. You may ask, what is that tournament and foundation that it is supporting? In this article, I will be giving information on who Ben was, what the foundation does, and how the tournament works. Please note that this is not sponsored by the Ben Banks foundation. I just wanted to inform people about the event and get more people to what I think is a worthy cause.


Who Was Ben Banks?

Born on April Fool's Day of 2007, Ben's love for cars was no joke. Whenever he met someone, his first question was what car they drove. From toy cars to real cars, he loved them all. He even reviewed toy cars, which turned into him reviewing real cars for Beaver County Auto's Facebook page. Besides cars, he enjoyed superheroes, Legos, and just playing around and having fun. Unfortunately, that fun came to an end in 2017. He battled many medical conditions through his life, but a brain aneurysm is what did him in. After his passing, his parents wanted to do something to remember him. A local foundation gave his parents the idea to make a scholarship in his memory. The scholarship was established, and four years later, the Ben Banks Foundation was founded to cover multiple initiatives in his memory.

What Does the Foundation Do?

There are three initiatives that the Ben Banks Foundation runs. They are the Ben Banks Memorial Scholarship, Ben's Toy Bins, and the Ben Banks Research Fund. The Scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship for students with special needs at Blackhawk High School to fund their educational expenses, whether it be to a 4-year college, 2-year college, or trade and technical school. It can also go to a student going to college to major in special education. Ben's Toy Bins is an initiative to give toys via bins to those staying in the hospital. There are locations at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital in Harrisburg. Finally, the research fund is dedicated to researching the connection between autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and brain aneurisms. 

How Will the Tournament Work?

The tournament will be held April 2nd at the Community Life Center, near the GetGo. High schoolers play from 2:30 to 4:30. If you want to join the tournament, gather a group of you and 7 other friends for a total of 8 people, pay $80, or $10 per person, and have fun on tournament day. If you can't find 7 people, there are some teams that want someone to help them out. If you want to volunteer at the tournament, talk to Mrs. Young for more information. If you want to sign up, sign up online at this link. Race Groups: Ben B's Big Ball Dodging Tourney 2022 (runsignup.com)

More information about the foundation can be found here. Benjamin M Banks Jr. Memorial Foundation (benbanksfoundation.org)


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