Jan. 29 started off like any other basketball game at Etowah High School. The JROTC presented the colors, the National Anthem played, the teams and players were announced and then tipped off the ball, but there was something different about this  game between town rivals.

The stands were packed full in both Etowah and Woodstock student sections and the teams felt more united than usual. Etowah and Woodstock students wore the same shirts and shouted for the same cause that night.

That cause began with a senior project idea from Cameron Shockey, Etowah senior basketball player. Her idea was  to hold a fundraiser to support Towne Lake families affected by cancer. She planned to donate the money raised to Towne Lake families to help with their financial needs.

“I believe that they shouldn’t have to go through it alone,” Shockey said.

Although Etowah and Woodstock have been rivals for years, the schools came together and fought for the same cause to make an impact on the community.

Shockey believed it would be difficult to communicate between the schools because of the extent of her project but Keith Ball, Etowah principal , and Mark Smith, Woodstock principal, supported Shockey with her cause.

Ball said there is rivalry on the court, but added, “You have to come together to do something for the greater good and there is no greater good than this.”

When Shockey came to Ball, he appreciated it on a personal level because his father died of cancer and his mother and sister are both cancer survivors but he also felt it on a social level that his students would come together to help others.

“Anything Cameron needed I helped out with. I wanted to help as much as possible,” Ball said.

When Ball contacted Smith to ask to come together as a family for one cause, Smith did not hesitate at the offer.

“We compete in class, on the court, on the field, in the stands but we all come together as a community to support something such as this,” Smith said.

Rebecca Schwartz and Mary Shell, Etowah social studies teachers, also helped Shockey with every aspect of her project.

“Mrs. Schwartz and Shell did a lot of the work and deserve most the credit in helping Cameron,” Ball said.

Both Etowah and Woodstock treated the event the same way to make it a positive event for the community. Many families, staff and faculty at both schools are affected by cancer so it is a subject that touches all hearts.

At each school, teachers and faculty volunteered for the cause to get their head shaved during halftime of the varsity boys basketball game. Students voted  by donating money to the donation bucket of the teacher they most wanted to see with a shaved head.

Donations and voting lasted a week and on Friday, Jan. 29 the winners were announced at a pep rally. Jessica Sprecher, Etowah literature teacher, and Brent Budde, Woodstock physical education teacher , were destined to shave their heads that night in front of a roaring crowd.

Both Sprecher and Budde  were personally affected by cancer.

“It was worth it. Worth every minute of it. I would definitely do it again,” Sprecher said.

Sprecher’s family was very supportive in her cause for shaving her head and shed some tears during the event because they were proud of her.

“Well, I just feel happy for her and proud of her,” Sprecher’s young daughter, Naomi, said.

Sprecher donated her hair to Wigs for Kids, an organization that provides hair replacement to children who have lost their hair due to medical issues, and invited a family friend, Molly Froman, to cut a piece of Sprecher’s hair to donate.

Froman is an E.T. Booth seventh grader. When Sprecher asked, Froman was excited to help with such a worthy cause.

Budde’s family attended as well and felt extremely proud to give their father a kiss after he went bald.

“Etowah helped me out two years ago when my wife was affected so I am glad to do anything to help,” Budde said.

Shockey’s goal was the raise $3,000. But, she raised  over $7,000 by the end of the night.

“This is our chance as a community to join together and make a difference because together love prevails,” Shockey said.