Student Organized Fundraiser Has a Family Feel

With her mother sometimes too sick to leave home, Alijah Webb played out the 2010 softball season with an extra weight on her back. Good thing for her, she has a group of teammates willing to support her through the best and worst of times.

Webb's mother, Susan Scibetta, is battling Lupus, an incurable autoimmune disorder that targets the immune system and can cause problems in joints and several organs. Last spring Scibetta said she lost about 50 pounds while battling the disease and was often too weak to make it to her daughter's games.

"I'm really private so when I'm sick people don't see me anymore," said Scibetta. "I think they (the softball players) really got a sense that this is a real disease and this affects a lot of people."

Scibetta's battle got the attention of the softball team. Enough so that this year, with Scibetta back in better health, softball players Jessica Magnotta and Ally Brabant sprang into action, organizing the fundraiser Laps for Lupus, which was held Friday evening at .

Over the last three months the students sent out flyers and e-mails, bought balloons and printed T-shirts to setup the event with all proceeds going to the Lupus Foundation of America.

"We just stepped up and helped her out," said Magnotta, a senior this year who was as the school's athlete of the year. 

Spawned from the Avon breast cancer walks that draw thousands of volunteers across the country, Friday's fundraiser asked participants to donate any amount of money they liked to walk around the Harrison track wearing a Laps for Lupus T-shirt. The goal was to not only raise money, but to raise awareness of the disease that affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans and to show the softball team's support for Webb and her mother.

"I just wanted to do something for my mom because I know a lot of people don't know about Lupus," said Webb. "I wanted to do something to show people."

Magnotta and Brabant volunteered to do most of the work to setup this year's event, allowing Webb to spend more time with her mother. They used resources in and out of the school and spent hours of their time putting the event together without hesitation.

"They're awesome, I couldn't believe it," Webb said. " It makes me really emotional at times because I wouldn't expect them to do all of this."

Players, coaches and faculty from a variety of Harrison sports teams came out to support the cause on Friday. Webb said next year, as a senior, she hopes to hold the fundraiser a second time, possibly making it an annual event at Harrison High School. She said she hopes to build on this year's success to draw even more support next spring.

This year, the event received a great amount of support that can only be found in a strong, tight-knit, community.

"Harrison is amazing," said Scibetta. "There's a sense of community here that I haven't felt anywhere else, so it's a nice feeling."