Recently, while Jim Thorpe and Panther Valley basketball teams were battling each other for a win on the court, some parents, other relatives and friends teamed up and were allies for another type of battle off the court.

During that basketball game, cheerleaders and students held a huge fundraising effort for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The fundraising event was organized by Jim Thorpe High School students David Richards and Olivia Wolfe, who pointed out that they both had siblings who were afflicted with cancer at a young age.

David has a brother, Damian, who was diagnosed with pediatric follicular Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014 at the age of 17. His parents credit research done by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with not only saving Damian’s life, but helping him recover to the extent that he could complete his college education and become a nurse. He is an Intensive Care Unit nurse for Geisinger Health System.

Olivia’s oldest brother, Hunter Wolfe, was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia as a young child. He lost his battle with the cancer at age 12 on July 7, 2011. “That’s a big momentum for me to do this,” Olivia said.

David and Olivia have been named “Students of the Year” by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because of their ambitious fundraising efforts. The Students of the Year program is described by the society as “a philanthropic leadership development program for exemplary high school students.”

Although they are both Jim Thorpe High School students — David is a freshman and Olivia is a sophomore — the combined fundraiser was held at Panther Valley Intermediate School and consisted of T-shirt sales.

“We play different sports together with our friends here,” David said in the foyer of the Panther Valley school. “We reached out to see if they would be willing to partake in our fundraiser.”

Olivia said the contacts at Panther Valley were cheerleading coach Heidi Seiwell and athletic director Kristen Black, who readily agreed to assist.

“The support has been really great,” she said. “It was amazing to be supportive by both communities and be there with whatever we needed.”

Cheerleaders from both schools wore white T-shirts containing the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society logo. Many students from the two schools sat in the stands — although on their respective team’s side — wearing the white shirts. At halftime, the two cheering squads combined for a cheer regarding the fundraising efforts.

David, 15, is the son of Jeanette and Ralph Richards. His sister, Natalia Richards, now a senior, and Olivia’s cousin and best friend, Molly Behan, who now attends California University of Pennsylvania, were part of Team Jim Thorpe, which raised $30,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society three years ago.

David said those on Team Jim Thorpe were named the very first “Students of the Year” by the organization.

Olivia, 15, is the daughter of Kim Sargent and Tony Wolfe. She said her father, Tony, was also diagnosed in 2017 with the same thing as her brother. She said he is presently going through treatment.

The fundraising event consists of a seven-week campaign.

“Technically it’s a competition, but it’s not really about competing,” he said.

He said both he and Olivia were part of the first Team Jim Thorpe unit.

“When we became of age, we wanted to do it, too,” he said.

David recalled when his brother was diagnosed with pediatric follicular Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“When we found out, it was the worst feeling you could ever have as a brother and a friend,” he said.

Damian is 23 now and is in remission.

David said, “The big push for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is, due to advanced research, Damian never had to go through chemo.”

His mother agreed, saying, “At the first hospital, he was told he would need four doses of chemotherapy.”

He would have had to quit school for nursing, she said.

A second opinion was received from a hospital in Philadelphia which said he would need surgery, but not the chemo. As a result, he continued his schooling.

Olivia said her brother, Hunter, went through treatments, but his young body was unsuccessful in battling the disease.

She said she was proud of the response by the two schools, saying, “Both boys’ basketball coaches and cheerleading coaches were huge supporters.”

She said other fundraisers are planned. One event was a “white out” during a basketball game against North Schuylkill, which included wearing the white T-shirts.