When Matthew Cindric and seven friends needed an idea for a school service project, they didn’t want to venture far from something they all enjoy — sports.
“At first we wanted to do a basketball tournament, but we realized that wasn’t practical with the weather here in Seattle,” said Cindric, 12.
Instead of risking a rainy day, May 11, the close-knit group of Pine Lake Middle School sixth-graders opted to host a ping pong tournament at the Sammamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center.
The eight boys, who were required to do volunteer work for their class, opted to go above and beyond hosting a fundraiser benefiting the Issaquah Food Bank.
“We thought the Issaquah Food Bank needed some help with getting some fruit juice and diapers and stuff,” said Bryan Meissner, who played a key role in coming up with the idea for a ping pong tournament.
In all, 59 kids competed in last Friday’s tournament.
Taking half the entry fees from the teen center, food sales and raffle ticket sales, the boys raised $680 for the food bank — well above their goal of $250. They purchased $500 in diapers and donated the remaining $180 to the food bank in checks.
“These boys wanted to do more than just volunteer they wanted to make a difference by raising money to give even more back to the Issaquah Food Bank,” said parent volunteer Kim Meissner.
The eight boys included Matthew Cindric, Andrew Tenczar, Will Carson, Blake Lees, Cole Hayrynen, Arjun Malhotra, Ashish Manda and Bryan Meissner.
Pine Lake sixth-grader Jake Nickel competes in a ping pong fundraiser tournament last week at the Sammamish EX3 Teen Center.
Bryan Meissner, left, watches as Adil Islam competes in the ping pong tournament he helped organize.
