Valerie Wencis
What happens when you combine a challenge to a pingpong tournament with a desire to do good? Raising money for a charitable cause, of course. At least, that’s what happened when Reese Campbell, Melis Demirtas, and Eleonora Spada combined their interests and talents.
The Belmont High School seniors raised $900 for Rosie’s Place, a women’s shelter in Boston, by hosting face paintings and a pingpong tournament right outside of Champions Sporting Goods where Campbell and Demirtas work. The fundraiser took place during Belmont’s annual Town Day celebration in September.
“Our goal was $500, and we were like, that’s such a reach,” Demirtas said.
The teens charged $5 for face paintings or to enter the tournament, but Demirtas said many people contributed a lot more.
“Sometimes people would hand us twenties and say they don’t need the change, which was super generous,” she said.
“I had this little notebook with all of our ideas, and we were talking about deals we could offer, but, at the end, we decided people would donate because it’s for a charity,” recalled Demirtas. “This is way more money than we could even have imagined.”
“We are so grateful for the thoughtful support of these students,” Rosie’s Place President and CEO Leemarie Mosca wrote in a statement to The Belmont Voice. “The funds they raised will help us provide unconditional sanctuary, support and opportunity to thousands of poor and homeless women every year.”
“They’re really good kids, and they took the initiative to do it,” said Champions owner Gerry Dickhaut. “They created the poster, got their friends to help out, and advertised on [social media].”
When asked whether she has noticed an increase in philanthropy among her peers, Demirtas said it depends who has the time, as well as the interest.
Campbell said she has noticed “a slight uptick” in young people being more vocal about causes they’re passionate about, such as climate change.
“I think it’s good that youth are speaking out more. This experience emphasized that age doesn’t restrict how much you can speak up or help others,” Campbell said.
“There’s lots of ways for people to be active, whether giving your time or your money. It’s not really that hard,” she added. “If you’re passionate about something, there’s lots of different ways to help others.”