BOALSBURG — Orange and blue made purple at the Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy Girls Volleyball Purple Out Volleyball Game on Oct. 2. The event was organized by SJCA girls volleyball team captain Monika Peters to raise awareness and financial support for families with Rett syndrome.
Thea Day, a 6-year-old girl with Rett syndrome, and her parents, Val and Mike Day, were the fans of honor at the event.
“I wanted to do Purple Out to raise awareness for Rett Syndrome — not only for Rett Syndrome itself, but for Thea and her family, to honor her family for all that they do for her.” Peters said. Two years ago, Peters met Thea and her family when she was assigned to be Thea’s counselor at Camp Confidence, a camp for children with disabilities in Dubois, Clearfield County.
The event included a purple basket raffle, face painting, and exciting volleyball game versus Juniata High School. The SJCA WolfPack won the game in four sets, 25-15, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21.
Funds raised by the event will go to TEDE Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by the Day family to raise awareness for Rett syndrome and help families with medically complex lifestyles adapt to their circumstances. The foundation’s current effort is to purchase and install an adaptive changing table in a local hospital.
Purple is the ribbon color for Rett syndrome, which is a genetic condition that causes severe developmental and cognitive delays. It is due to an alternation in the MECP2 gene.
