IC Catholic Prep Students Deliver Check To Easterseals

ELMHURST, IL — At a check presentation ceremony, four student-athletes from IC Catholic Prep delivered $778.47 to Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley to cap off a successful student-led fundraiser and awareness campaign called Orange Crush.

The school said four juniors from the Class of 2020 and teammates on the Knights Football team, Tommy Ryan, Kevin Cooke, Dom Krepulec and Jack Ryan presented the check to Easterseals DFV President & CEO Theresa Forthofer, Relationship Coordinator Amy Liss, and Director of Development & Marketing, Kelly Moreland.

The beginnings of the Orange Crush campaign can be traced back to last summer when Tommy Ryan interned at the Pre-K program, according to the school.

“It was during this time that I developed a relationship with and affinity for the mission of Easterseals DFV,” Ryan said in a release. “I really learned that we can change the way the world defines and views disability by making profound, positive differences in people’s lives every day.”

Ryan was inspired to do more and find a way to involve his teammates and his classmates at IC Catholic Prep.

“As a student at ICCP, I wanted to act on the lessons we learn about community service and giving back,” said Ryan. “I had a lot of help from my mom–Mary Beth (Haggerty ’81) Ryan–and together we worked with the ICCP Development Office, Easterseals and other community members to design, print and sell T-shirts to raise money and awareness for independent living.”

Adam Nissen, IC Catholic Prep Athletics Director, said one of the core tenets of a Catholic-based education is to learn the value of giving back to your community, both in service and with resources.

“On behalf of IC Catholic Prep, we are proud of all of our students for their commitment to community service. We promote independent thinking and it is only natural that our students would want to support the mission of Easterseals through the Orange Crush campaign. We hope the relationship will only continue to grow throughout the years," Nissen said in a release.

Photo provided by IC Catholic Prep.