27-01-2025
Competitors gather to fight cancer
Jan. 27—ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — On the court, Grand Valley and Pymatuning Valley are fierce rivals; off the court they cooperate fully to fight cancer in children.
On Friday evening, Penny Wars was brought to the forefront as Jocelyn Cozad and Violet Morse continued to spread their attempts to fight children's cancer to a larger audience.
Cozad and Morse, both sophomores at Grand Valley, took center stage, and a microphone, prior to the start of the game between the Lakers and the Mustangs. They asked those in attendance to put money into baskets of the team they wished to support.
The fundraiser started when the girls were in elementary school, and grew as they continued through middle school and high school. The girls decided to raise funds to help children because a small percentage of funds raised to fight cancer goes to research cancer in children.
Cozad mentioned the discrepancy and urged people to give at the game, or later through a website or qr code that was on display Friday night.
The two schools started cooperating on the fundraiser several years ago and Penny Wars at each school will kick into gear this week. A full week of promotions at each school is expected to raise a significant amount of money.
Roberta Cozad, an administrator at Grand Valley and mother of Jocelyn Cozad, said a lot of people were donating to the cause Friday evening.
On Tuesday afternoon, Grand Valley students will hear a cancer survivor's story to motivate their fundraising efforts, Roberta Cozad said
The schools have raised thousands of dollars to battle cancer. Cozad said the fundraising project has brought in a total of $27,000, and they are aiming for another $6,000 this year.
