Thirty teams have signed up to help one Grande Prairie girl in her fight against cancer. A 3 on 3 charity volleyball tournament called Play4Pele has been created to raise money for 14-year-old Erin Pele’s medical expenses.
Shane Zeyha is one of six organizers of the event and says when they were first approached with the idea they all jumped on it.
“If you happen to know Erin she’s just an incredible, soft-hearted girl, an amazing person and it was just something that was very easy to do. The family has been still so supportive of the volleyball teams Erin has played with and it’s just brought everybody together in a really close way.”
Erin was part of the volleyball team at Charles Spencer High School but has had to step away since being diagnosed with a high-risk type of leukaemia a year ago. So far the teen has made over 20 trips to Edmonton for treatment and will continue to travel there until at least September 2020.
So far through registration fees and sponsorships, Zeyha believes they’ve raised around $15,000 of their $20,000 goal. He says he’s humbled by the generosity of people here.
“It’s not even asking twice it’s people just coming forward like families just donating funds or money or businesses donating items from their place. It’s just such an incredible thing to be involved in and we’re very, very thankful for everyone and their support.”
The event will be held at the courts at South Bear Creek from June 21st to 23rd starting at 4:30 on Friday. People are welcome to go and watch and donations can be made at the tournament.