Stephen Bender needed a way to connect with his new community and unify his new basketball team this winter.

What better way than to Shoot for the Cure.

The first-year West Branch boys coach set up the program where sponsors donate $10 for every 3-point shot the Bears make in a game. Half the money goes to the team and the rest goes to support school district nurse Deb McCarthy in her fight against breast cancer.

The team already has raised close to $1,300.

“She asked to talk to the guys after one of our games,” Bender said of McCarthy. “She was really emotional after the game and said how much it meant to her. She really appreciated it. She said nobody’s ever done something like this before for her.

“It was nice for the guys to see that basketball is really important to us right now, but other things are important, too. It was important to see they can help.”

Bender played high school basketball at Iowa Mennonite School, but got the idea while working as an assistant coach under Travis Evans, the son of Regina football coach Chuck Evans, at Indianola.

“I just thought it was a good idea,” Bender said. “When you get beyond basketball, you start building that team chemistry.”

Not to mention community chemistry.

“Everybody has been really great,” Bender said. “We’ve had a lot of support.”

— Jon Klinkowitz

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