Sycamore charity basketball game raises $1.5K for Spartan Food Pantry

SYCAMORE – Sycamore School District 427 staff took home a victory against city first responders Tuesday in the first ever Heroes on Hardwood fundraiser, but players said the real winner was the charity work it benefited.

After holding a one-point lead over the team of Sycamore firefighters and police officers, district staff ran away with the game in the second half, winning 62-49. The game was held at Sycamore High School.

The price of admission for the basketball game was a cash or food donation to the Spartan Food Pantry, which serves the families of Sycamore school students.

Food pantry president Thomas Franks – who’s also the principle at North Elementary School in Sycamore – said the pantry staff was humbled when asked to be the beneficiary of the new fundraiser.

“This is going to be great for us, not only in terms of donations, but also for us to get our word out, so that people know about the pantry more in our community,” Franks said. “We’re really excited about the exposure.”

The Spartan Food Pantry received $1,500 worth of donations, enough to fill more than 10 wagons, Franks said.

A similar event was held in DeKalb earlier this month, where DeKalb police and firefighters defeated the teachers and staff from DeKalb School District 428 in the annual Guns and Hoses Basketball Game.

Although the new Sycamore event mirrors what’s been done in DeKalb for years, Sycamore school officials said the idea came from the Sycamore Police Department. Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters gave the credit to Det. Ryan Nicholson, who regularly plays basketball at a local gym.

Nicholson, who played for the first responders’ team, shied away from the credit, but said he was happy to see members of the public filling into Sycamore High School’s gymnasium 30 minutes before tipoff.

“I think it’s great, especially getting together for a local charity. We’re keeping it really within Sycamore, partnering with the food pantry,” Nicholson said. “It’s the school district, the fire department and the police department all coming together, as well as the community, to make this happen.”

Sycamore Assistant Superintendent Nick Reineck, a player for the school district’s team, said the event was showing telltale signs of a success before the charity game even began.

“We didn’t really know what it would be. We put it together kind of late,” Reineck said. “All credit going to [Sycamore police and fire departments]. They reached out, put this thing together, and it looks like we’re going to have a good crowd supporting our own community and our families within our community through the food pantry.”

This story has been corrected after an earlier version misstated who comprised the Sycamore school team, made up of staff from all over District 427.