Dartmouth High teams score one for community service

Feb 5, 2020

Last Thursday the Dartmouth High boys hockey and basketball teams didn’t spend the afternoon at practice at least, not all of it.

Instead they took over an hour to wrap teddy bears, masks, and capes for children for the Friends of Jack Foundation, which distributes care packages to kids in tough situations through hospitals, police, and other emergency services.

The high schoolers also built power wheels cars for children undergoing surgery to drive into the operating rooms. 

In all, they assembled over 500 care packages and four power wheels cars.

The idea is to give the kids confidence and make them feel like they’re superheroes, noted Friends of Jack board member Joey Winterhalter of Dartmouth. 

Winterhalter knows both hockey coach Mike Cappello and boys basketball coach Mike Grandfield, and reached out to them to cooperate.

“They jumped right in,” he said of both the coaches and the kids. 

“It turned out to be a phenomenal night, it turned out better than we anticipated,” he added. “It was just a great night!”

And the coaches said the student athletes had a great time as well.

“It was an awesome experience, the kids really enjoyed it,” said Grandfield. “Hopefully we’ll do it again.”

“We’re constantly looking to collaborate in the community,” Winterhalter said. “The South Coast is our home...We’re constantly looking to work with people in the community looking to give back.” 

The Friends of Jack Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Mattapoisett.