For most high school seniors, the summer of 12th grade is filled with dreams of the future; thinking about what life is going to be like once the shackles of high school are removed and true freedom sets in. But in 2018 for one high school senior, summertime was utilized as an opportunity to help others and make a real difference in his community. For Jack Levine, summer of 12th grade was a time not to dream, but to act and to help raise money for cancer patients. That is how Score4RCCS was born.
Levine is an avid basketball player and he wanted to utilize his passion for helping others. With the help and support of his father and mother, Levine and his friends created Score4RCCS, a best of three All Star game tournament. The games were all played in Levine’s backyard and were between Levine and his friends from Frisch against some local Monsey yeshiva boys. The games were closely played and highly contested. In the end, the Monsey boys pulled out the victory in over time of the last game and won the trophy. However, as Levine put it, the real winners were the patients of RCCS, as over $20,000 was raised to help RCCS continues its mission of providing cancer patients with access to the best medical care through its financial grants and medical guidance programs.
This year on June 23, once again Score4RCCS will be played in Monsey, at Levine’s home. In an effort to raise more awareness and hopefully more money for the organization, this year, the tournament will be expanding to include a three on three half-court division, encouraging older players to play and raise money for RCCS. Levine’s father, Freddie, is not only overseeing the tournament, but also hopes to play and bring home the trophy. But I think that Freddie would agree, as long as the vital funds are raised that will help this organization continue to service over 2500 cancer patients worldwide, then everyone wins.
We wish Freddie and Jack much luck on their project. For more information, you can reach out directly to RCCS Director of Organizational Advancement, Yisroel Merkin, at 347-815-4976
By Yisroel Mayer Merkin
