In an effort to beautify their campus and raise money for a trip to Florida, the W.T. Clarke High School Softball Program is running a dual fundraiser. The girls varsity softball team is constructing a "Walk of Remembrance," which through the sale of bricks will enable them to not only offset the cost of visiting Disney's Wide World of Sports in Florida this April, but will also pay for dugouts on the high school's fields. In addition, the bricks will serve as permanent memorials to the Clarke community.

Through the purchase of bricks, members of the Clarke community can erect permanent memorials to remember a loved one, commemorate an event or acknowledge a Clarke Ram supporter. The bricks, which cost $50 each, will consist of engraved 4" x 8" bricks that can be engraved. Each brick can be engraved with three lines of text, with 14 characters per line. The "Walk of Remembrance" will be located along the entranceway to the gymnasium by the school's football field.

"One of the things we are really proud of is that it is not just a softball fundraiser," said Grace Chianese, coach of the Clarke Rams Girls Varsity Softball Team. "It is being done partly to raise money for us, but also to beautify the campus. It is for any Clarke community member to remember someone, a date or to just be supportive of the community and give back."

Chianese added, "The entranceway has been in desperate need of work for a while and expenses have prevented it from being done until now. [The team] needed a fundraiser and decided to incorporate it into something that will give back to the school."

In addition to attending Clarke herself, both of Chianese's parents worked for the district. Her father was a fifth-grade teacher and baseball, girls' soccer and varsity basketball coach and her mother was a cheerleading coach. Chianese began coaching at Clarke in college and has been working with the girls softball team for the past 17 years. "This is the first time we are doing this as a softball team," she said. "As a child, my father was baseball coach and we traveled all the time to Florida and even Puerto Rico. It was a great time."

The team, which is comprised of 15 girls in grades nine through 12, will visit Wild World of Sports during Easter recess. At this time, they will be able to see teams from around the country during spring training. "The girls worked really hard," said Chianese. "I wanted them to be exposed to something different and something fun."

Approximately $2,000 has been raised to date through the sale of the bricks. Bricks for the "Walk of Remembrance" can be purchased through the end of the 2002-2003 school year and all donations are tax deductible. For more information, call Grace Chianese at 334-2316 or e-mail clarkerams01@yahoo.com