Students Go Purple To Fight Epilepsy

When a classmate had a seizure at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy last month, the school’s students could have responded with trepidation.

Instead, they rallied around the cause, with the incident sparking one student to plan a Purple Out at the school to raise awareness about epilepsy and to help fund research. 

Ben Wheeler, a senior at St. Joe’s, sits on the student council. After both his cousin and two students at the school were diagnosed with epilepsy, with one student undergoing brain surgery, Wheeler wanted to do whatever he could to benefit the cause.

The students were enthusiastic about the Purple Out event, which was held on May 13, purchasing purple t-shirts and purple Gatorade at school and the baseball team’s game that night. Wheeler says the student body was decked out in purple to raise awareness for epilepsy and to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central Pennsylvania.

“It was very successful,” Wheeler says. “Everyone wore purple and we sold a lot of purple shirts, sold a lot of purple Gatorade. The school looked like a giant festival of Barney. It was ridiculous.”

T-shirts were sold during the school day for $10 and at the baseball game for $15.

It seems that all of the purple brought the St. Joe’s baseball team some good fortune as well. The team dominated West Branch in a 7-0 victory, led by senior pitcher Phil Fenstermacker’s complete game shutout.

The students’ efforts paid off to the tune of $2,261.85 raised for the foundation, which was presented to regional coordinator Gretchen Knaub in the form of an over-sized check at a school assembly Thursday afternoon. Knaub was more than happy to accept the proceeds from the Purple Out.

“Thank you all so much for contributing to the cause and holding this event and helping raise awareness for epilepsy,” she says. “One in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime, so this awareness is really important to us and we really appreciate it. This is a really fantastic thing you all have done.”

The Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central Pennsylvania is a non-profit service organization that provides public education and supportive services to families affected by epilepsy and other seizure disorders.