Members of one Ocean County community will oppose retired pro football players on the hardwood this Friday, to help high school students pay it forward.

Pay It Forward Dream For Kids
Pay It Forward Dream For Kids (Arlene Wacha, Jackson Liberty High School)
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Jackson Township students organized a charity basketball game that will raise money to help members of their community with various projects. High school teacher Arlene Wacha said they were inspired by retired Buffalo Bills tight end Lonnie Allgood, the CEO of Dreams For Kids.

"He is a graduate of Red Bank Regional High School and he's taken it upon himself to make this his mission, to actually pay it forward," Wacha said.

However, the students themselves are learning a valuable lesson: that it costs money to even do good deeds.

"It's great to say you want to help, but even if you were to help an elderly person rake the yard, you've got to get some rakes," Wacha said. "So you either have to purchase them or have them donated. Everything costs some form of money."

Wacha said they named the basketball game "Pay It Forward Dream For Kids." It's been in the planning stages for about a year, in partnership with Dreams For Kids, and will be held at Jackson Liberty High School on March 28. Dreams For Kids will bring eight members of the NFL Alumni Association to play quarterly, against six teams picked from the community.

"We're putting the waivers into drawings and pulling the waivers out the night of the game, so each person may have the opportunity to play," Wacha said.

Participants can purchase tickets in advance or at the door, to watch the game or to participate in a VIP event that includes special seating and a meet-and-greet with the players. There will also be an NFL store, refreshments, raffles, a tricky tray and more. Get the details on the school's website.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Friday at the Jackson Liberty High School gym, 125 North Hope Chapel Road, Jackson Township.

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