And the National School Spirit Day Winner is... Bethlehem Catholic High School from Bethlehem, PA! The third annual National School Spirit Day, celebrated on 09-09-11, was a huge success! Teams volunteered all week to be visible in their schools and communities, showing the true leadership and dedication of cheerleaders, dancers, and spirit teams across the country. Varsity’s Official National School Spirit Day Sweepstakes received more than 200 entries this year, and more than 135,000 hours were volunteered across the country! The winner, Bethlehem Catholic High School, performed 672 hours of service during the week of NSSD.

When Bethlehem saw the NSSD dates, they were more than excited because it coincided with another week near and dear to their hearts, Pediatric Cancer Awareness Week. The cheerleaders spent the entire week raising awareness for Pediatric Cancer and NSSD. The football players got involved as well, by helping the cheerleaders sell Pediatric Cancer Awareness bracelets during school lunches throughout the week. They also hosted a “dress down” day on 9-9-11: the students could donate money and then they could “dress down” for the day (they didn’t have to wear their uniforms).

During the football game on Friday night, the cheerleaders from both Bethlehem Catholic and William Allen HS, the opposing team, put aside their team rivalry and came together to support the cause. Both cheerleading teams collected change during the game for the, “Friday Night for Hope - Change for Hope" event. All monies ($1,635.44) collected and donated from the week's bracelet sale, dress down day, and coin collection went toward Angel 34, a locally started non-profit organization. The organization not only uses donations to fund research toward a cure for pediatric cancer but also to help ease the financial burdens placed upon families in their area when their child is diagnosed with pediatric cancer. In addition, the cheer team will also be participating in a 5K walk for the Angel 34 Foundation at the end of the month.

Great job to all of the teams across the country who participated in NSSD and made a difference in their community! Don’t forget to plan your service for 2012 soon!