Submitted Photo: Pictured is one of the many teams who competed in the Fourth Annual March Madness event held at Pine Valley High School. The 3-on-3 basketball tournament raised $4,900 to help young community members in need.

The Fourth Annual March Madness event held on Sunday, March 12 at Pine Valley High School was a resounding success! The annual event was sponsored by Community in Action. This year’s event included the first March Madness 3-on-3 tournament for students from grades 7-12.

Thirty-five students participated in the tournament. An additional 35 alumni players returned to Pine Valley for the annual alumni games. The day-long event also included 50/50 raffles, concessions and a large Chinese auction with over 100 donated items. Community in Action is happy to announce that this year’s event raised $4,900. This money will go a long way to help many Pine Valley students and their families that are currently going through difficult times. This includes students suffering from a serious or life-threatening illness, students injured in a severe accident, the loss of a parent or the loss of a home due to fire or natural disaster.

Community In Action and the March Madness Committee would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the Pine Valley faculty and staff, administration, students, parents and community members who helped to make this annual event such a success. Whether you donated items for the concession stand, donated to the Chinese auction or volunteered your time, Community in Action acknowledges and appreciates your support.Community in Action would also like to give a “shout-out” to all the local businesses in South Dayton and Cherry Creek and Pine Valley groups that donated to the event: South Dayton Supermarket, South Dayton Hotel, The Mustard Seed, CCB, NOCO, SCFCU, Crossroads Grocery, The Neighbors 2, Center of Attention and NEHS Hardware and the Pine Valley TA.

Also, special thanks to all the businesses and groups that support the event every year from the surrounding communities of Gowanda, Irving, Forestville, Fredonia, Dunkirk and Jamestown. Especially The Jock Shop for providing the event with great T-shirts every year. The following groups or businesses donated over $50 and/or merchandise to the event this year: Basil Chevrolet, Blasdell Pizza, Fredonia Sears, Valley Tire, Fieldbrook, Patton’s, Gowanda Moose Lodge 1382 and Women of the Moose Chapter 651, Gowanda Ford, and the Sinclairville Superette. Your generosity is truly appreciated!

This annual event serves as a testimony to what a small community can do when it pulls together. Through the team work and generosity of the community, this event proved to be an incredibly positive, fun and uplifting experience. Community in Action looks forward to the participation of the fellow community members again next year.