2023 JHS Battle of the Classes Scheduled For March 30
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — The 42nd annual Jamestown High School Battle of the Classes will take place on Thursday, March 30 in the McElrath Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from the annual competition will benefit the Mental Health Association of Chautauqua County.
The event — a school-wide competition that includes games, skills contests, and dance-offs to celebrate several weeks worth of intense fundraising for a community organization — returns to the “Mac Gym” for the first time since 2019. Events had been held at Strider Field the last two years.
“We’re really excited to get back to our more traditional Battle of the Classes,” said JHS student government advisor Tony Dolce. “The challenge for us has been that none of the current group of students had a traditional battle. The last two years have been a modified outdoor battle so it’ll be fun to see how they react to the excitement of being back in the Mac.”
Over the last four decades, the school has raised over $300,000 for community organizations and charities.
“The most important part of this event has always been the fundraising and supporting our community,” Dolce said. “It’s been an important way to teach students the importance of giving back.”
“We had a lot of suggestions from each of the classes this year on where to donate the money,” said Emylia Hallberg, president of the JHS Class of 2023 who also serves as a student representative on the district’s board of education. “We all wanted to do something with the community in mind, but there was a push to focus on mental health in the wake of COVID-19.”
“For our generation, mental health is really important to us and the foundations of wellness in all areas of our lives, so we thought it would be an excellent choice to benefit a charity that works so well that fits all of our values and needs,” said Madeline DeJoy, Class of 2023 Historian.
Proceeds will help benefit MHA’s “Code Blue Warming Center” established earlier this year, according to MHA executive director Steven Cobb, who called the timing “perfect.”
“This expansion into homeless/shelter services has created new areas of need the MHA is working to directly address in our community,” said MHA executive director Steven Cobb. “Being invited to join the Battle of the Classes fundraiser will allow us to meet those needs. We are really excited to be a part of this important event.”
Cobb said the donation from JHS students will help to make physical updates to the association’s Gateway Center space to provide shower, laundry, and technology services to those in need across the community.
“We are now supporting our community neighbors with substance and mental health challenges in more ways than we ever had,” Cobb added. “Any chance we get to discuss the MHA and the work we do reduces the stigma and fear that often envelop our healing recovery work. The deep civic mindedness of the students at JHS is helping us to address and diminish this considerable obstacle to wellness in our city.”
Those interested in donating can contact Dolce at anthony.j.dolce@jpsny.org. Tickets for the event are $1 presale and $2 at the door and can be purchased from any JHS class council member or by contacting the school at 716-483-3470.