Good NewsHigh school hockey players ditch their phones to help young player with cancer
Don't try to text players on Billerica Memorial High School's varsity hockey team this month. They're phone-less.
The teenaged athletes and some of their fellow students are going cellphone-free from April 17 to May 16 in an effort to raise money for 12-year-old Ian Cadden, a local PeeWee hockey player battling acute lymphocytic leukemia.
They're calling the fundraiser "Billerica is Celling Out for Leukaemia."
"We would do anything for that kid," sophomore hockey player Cal Johnson told the Lowell Sun. "They're such an amazing family, and I would do anything for them.
[ Good News: 79-year-old flute player joins elementary school band ]
"It's only 30 days, not that bad," he added. "Hopefully this becomes a tradition to help anyone going through hard times."
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts team made Ian their honorary captain and had him drop the puck at one of their games. Now they're getting community members to sponsor their phone-free campaign. Local residents and businesses are sponsoring the teens for each day they are without phones.
The students hope to raise $120,000 for cancer research and for Ian's family.
Follow their fundraiser on Twitter: #BillericaCellsOut.
"People are just blown away that a kid would give up their phone for a day, much less 30 days," Glen Corbett, the father of one of the players, told ABC News. "Kids are turning in huge donations of $1,400, $2,500, as much as $3,000."
The phones — 101 in total — are being kept in a safety box at the local police department until May 16.
[ Good News: Teen with cerebral palsy gets sweet surprise ]
Ian has undergone extensive cancer treatments over the past year and continues to receive chemotherapy every Tuesday. Recently, he's managed to return to school a few days a week — and even make it out on the ice again.
Ian's cancer has a 92 per cent cure rate, and his family is optimistic.
"He's a tough kid. A fighter," said Ian's father and hockey coach Bill Cadden, "Just to see him smile and his hair starting to grow back is amazing.
"And the community support has been incredible," he added. "With them giving up their phones, we're just so overwhelmed by that. I don't know what to say. There are not enough words to say how grateful we are."
