GRAND HAVEN, Michigan — Sitting in a lawn chair at the Grand Haven High School tennis courts, Jodi Andrzejewski watched her son Jesse play in a doubles match against East Kentwood. Jodi was wearing purple, and Jesse was too, because this wasn't an ordinary day on the court. It was the first-ever BUCS Pride tennis match.
"BUCS Pride has been around for many years, and all different sports have participated in it, but Coach Chris [Wilton] came to me maybe three, four weeks ago and was like, we have never done this, but it's something I've always wanted to do," Jodi said.
BUCS Pride started in 2011 with a football game against Jenison. Since then, it has grown to include many different sports at Grand Haven. Players wear purple BUCS Pride shirts, bearing the name of someone who has experienced a cancer journey, who the players wanted to honor.
The sale of the shirts helps raise money to support cancer patients. BUCS Pride puts together community care baskets for people battling cancer. It also pays for adults to access Bluebird Cancer Retreats, and for children of cancer patients to go to Camp Kesem at Grand Valley State University.
Jodi, who is also a teacher at Grand Haven, can see how big BUCS Pride has become over the years.
"To see the t-shirts moving around the building, between classes and during passing time, you can just tell that it's just a thing. At this point, everyone knows what a BUCS Pride event is. Everyone knows what it's for," she said.
"To look around our school and to see that it's just become a part of our culture is a really cool legacy to know that students are becoming more aware that everyone, just about, has been impacted by cancer in some way, shape or form."
Jesse, who is a senior at Grand Haven, was honored to be part of the first BUCS Pride tennis match.
"I think it's just cool for each sport to have a chance to kind of honor people, whether they either passed or are still with us. It's really cool for each person to kind of show who they're, who they're playing for," he said.
Jesse was playing for his aunt, Shannon Schamback, who worked in the medical industry and was known for her spunk, warm personality and excellent cooking abilities. Aunt Shannong passed away in 2017 after a 13-month battle with leukemia. She was one of the early beneficiaries of BUCS Pride.
"[BUCS Pride board member Sharon Yonker] was able to provide the basket and show up at the hospital for my brother and my sister-in-law, just to kind of let them know that this community, even though it was people that didn't know them, was aware and was supporting them as they fought that battle," Jodi said about Shannon's cancer journey.
"This was one of those ways where even though you didn't know these people and they didn't know you, just knowing that there was somebody out there being compassionate and considerate just at the right moment came in and was what we needed at that moment, to just remind us that we weren't fighting that battle alone."
Leaders from the charity tell 13 ON YOUR SIDE that the best way to find out when and where they'll be selling BUCS Pride shirts is to follow their Facebook page. They also accept volunteers, in-kind donations, and sponsors. If you'd like to help, you can call 616-402-1443.
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