The 2022 middle school volleyball season was full of firsts for Southwest. The biggest undertaking being one of advocacy.

“Each season, we do ‘Theme Nights’ for home games, and this season, I wanted it to be about more,” said Coach Mandy Henry. “I gave the girls three options to choose from on what they wanted to advocate, and child abuse awareness was one that resonated with them. They told me that this was their choice because it was something they knew affected their own classmates.”

The coaches, players and managers then set the goal of raising money for the Children’s Center of Southwest Missouri.

“We divided all the home games and our tournament up between everyone to make baked goods so we could sell them each time we had a home game,” Henry said. “The kids (and their parents) did a fantastic job making sure the table was supplied each of those nights.”

By the end of the month-long season, the team had raised $637.50.

“I thought this was fantastic for our first year doing advocacy, and we hope to grow this event each year,” Henry said. “With the high school team participating in Pink Out each season, I feel that it’s important to get the girls started young on learning to advocate for others. Not only does it raise their awareness on important issues, but we hope that it also raises the awareness in our community.”