By Cristina Maisel

For 24 hours, the Dickinson College men’s lacrosse team traded in their helmets and sticks for sand and volleyball, all to raise money for the American Red Cross of Central Pennsylvania. September marked the 18^th annual Volleyball-a-Thon on Dickinson’s campus in Carlisle. The event, which began in 2006, was the brainchild of Dave Webster, head coach of the men’s lacrosse program.

“We came up with the idea of this all-night, 24-hour Volleyball-a-Thon to raise money for the Red Cross and to get our guys active on campus,” Webster said. “We try to help them understand the impact that a pretty small effort – playing volleyball for a day – can have to really make a difference.”

The event requires full team collaboration. Each player is responsible for raising money for the Red Cross. They also divide up the event logistics by class, including promoting the event on campus and through social media, collecting donations of food and drinks, and recruiting other clubs and organizations to participate by playing a volleyball match against the lacrosse team. It all culminates with 24 hours on the sand volleyball court, rain or shine, with groups of players rotating in throughout the day and night.

“It’s a great team-building event for us,” senior Evan Karetsos said. “Sure, it’s fun at the beginning, but when it gets to be 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., that’s when the gritty times start.”

“It’s a win-win situation,” Webster said. “We’re doing something positive for the community and we’re doing something really positive for our team. That collective enduring, the challenge of it, is certainly something we reflect on throughout the year.”

“It’s pretty awesome to let the younger guys know what this means to everyone,” senior Capp Reynolds added. “We get everybody together and turn it into a competition of who can raise the most money to help the cause.”

The Volleyball-a-Thon has grown from humble beginnings, collecting loose change in canisters, to raising more than $22,000 in 2024. The funds support Red Cross Disaster Relief, which provides safe shelter, food, relief supplies, emotional support and financial assistance to families in need after disasters like home fires.

“It's just amazing to see how our money is actually being used and how it is helping families out there who are affected by tragedies,” senior Ben Tompkins said. “Coming out here and playing volleyball for 24 hours – if we can do that every single day to raise money to help families, I think we'd do that.”

“Unfortunately, I think athletes, particularly male athletes, get a bad rap at times in terms of not being more altruistic,” Webster said. “As a coach and a mentor, I’m committed to the idea of providing some perspective to our young men and getting them involved. Anything we can do service-related in our community is such a valuable learning opportunity for our guys. Hopefully, they will carry that with them as they graduate and go out into the community to be productive leaders in that way.”

Every eight minutes, the Red Cross helps someone affected by a disaster. You can help people affected by disasters big and small by making a donation to support Red Cross Disaster Relief. Visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to donate. Every single donation makes a difference in someone’s life.