Boys &Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield to Host Inaugural Dodging for Dollars Event

By Danny Lumb

STONEHAM/WAKEFIELD, MA.-- Anyone who is a fan of the movie Dodgeball knows that there are 5 D’s to dodgeball

(1) Dodge (2) Duck (3) Dip (4) Dive (5) Dodge.

However, starting at 8 pm on April 28th, and continuing on April 29th and April 30th there will be a 6th ‘D’ added to the List, donating.

On that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield will be hosting their first ever Dodging for Dollars Fundraiser. As part of the event, groups and individual members of our local communities are taking time off from their work day to come and support the club by playing in 1-hour dodgeball sessions.

"We are so lucky to have such supportive communities. To have the Stoneham Police v. the Wakefield Police, Wakefield Fire v. Stoneham Fire, Appointed & Elected Officials from Stoneham v. Appointed & Elected Officials from Wakefield, is amazing!" stated Executive Director Adam Rodgers.

“As a former Club member from Stoneham,” police officer and player Christopher Apalakis explained “I have experienced first-hand all the benefits of the Clubs. Now my son is a member. It is an important part of our communities. I’m happy to join with other officers from Stoneham and challenge the Wakefield Police to a friendly game of dodge ball to benefit the Clubs.”

He ended with “A game I’m sure we will win.”

Director of Development Anthony Guardia added that while there is excitement about the public safety officials challenging each other, he is just as excited to watch elected and appointed officials from Stoneham and Wakefield challenge each other.

“How many times, in our current political environment, can you watch political opponents like Selectwoman Caroline Colarusso and Rep. Mike Day play on the same team?” Anthony concluded that he is still picking Wakefield Officials to win.

Former collegiate athlete and current Wakefield School Committee member Gregory Liakos agreed but said all joking aside, “what the Clubs do is provide a place for our children during those critical after-school hours when children in our towns may not have any supervision.” He added that other than supervision, he’s become impressed with the quality of dynamic programming being provided by the Clubs.

Other than municipal and public safety officials, a bulk of the teams come from private companies. The top two fundraisers are local entrepreneurs.

Former Stoneham Club Member Christopher Ponzo of Electrical Associates leads, followed closely by Phil Delany of SDL, Inc. in Wakefield.

“Our kids are our future. At SDL we believe in the work the Boys & Girls club of Stoneham & Wakefield do for the kids in our town. For me personally, I am delighted to be fundraising for such a great cause…and there’s no better way of doing it than winning at Dodgeball!” commented Phil.

"Everyday hundreds of kids from Stoneham and Wakefield come to our Clubs. When they do they are dodging negative influences and dodging risky activities and behaviors. Playing Dodgeball at Dodging for Dollars helps Stoneham and Wakefield kids do just that” concluded Anthony Guardia.

Listed Below are the times and teams participating in the event, spectators are welcome.

Thursday, 4/28 -

8:00 PM - Defensive Edge v. HD Physical Therapy

Friday, 4/29 -

10:00 AM - Stoneham Fire Department v. Wakefield Fire Department

11:00 AM -

Keller Williams - CG Properties & Chef Joe Gatto's "From Scratch" v. Fitness Balanced & Michele Penta Health and Fitness

12:00 PM - Epsilon

2:00 PM - Liberty Bay Credit Union v. Wakefield Co-operative Bank

3:00 PM - SDL, Inc.

4:00 PM - Stoneham Police Department v. Wakefield Police Department

5:00 PM - Stoneham Football v. BEarFit Training System Warriors

6:00 PM - MassPay v. Team Mason

7:00 PM - Salem Five v. The Overtakers - Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home

8:00 PM - Super Stop & Shop Stoneham v. Super Stop & Shop Winchester

Saturday, 4/30 -

9:00 AM - Stoneham Officials v. Wakefield Officials

10:00 AM - Ponzo Brothers 

11:00 AM - Getty's Jedi Knights v. Reopell's Avengers Team

To learn more about the event you can visit www.DodgeStonehamWakefield.com

As a bonus to this event, the Boys & Girls Club is inviting anyone from the community to come support their favorite team either by donating or coming to watch some of the games. The event will also feature guest appearances from Pat the Patriot, Wally the Green Monster, and many more. And did we forget to mention that the special guest referees for these games will be the kids of our Boys & Girls Clubs themselves!