Freedom’s boys’ basketball team has been one of the top teams on the court this season in the East Penn Conference and the Patriots are looking to exemplify that off the court too with a fundraiser they are kicking off this week.

The boys’ program in conjunction with the Freedom Family Fundraising Committee are holding a fundraiser through the next week to help people in Ukraine.

Head coach Joe Stellato has been apart of plenty of fundraisers over his time at Freedom, but this one has team ties, as senior Joe Dew’s mother’s family is from Ukraine.

She is also President of the Bethlehem Chapter of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. The nonprofit organization was established in 1925 and is the longest-running and largest Ukrainian women’s organization in the US.

“This is a nonpolitical fundraiser and the money raised will go to the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America,” said Stellato. “The money raised will go to purchase sleeping bags, warm clothes, and generators for those innocent civilians in the war zone.”

The fundraiser will be selling T-shirts for $10 and run from Jan. 25 through February 1. The organizing groups have put together sponsors to for the shirts, so all proceeds will go to the UNWLA. Shirts can be purchased through the main office at Freedom High School.

“We will have a competition between Block 4 classes to see who can sell the most shirts while also giving teachers some incentives to sell the shirts and promote the fundraiser,” Stellato said. “We will then present the organization with a check at halftime of the Feb. 6 boys’ basketball game [against Dieruff]. The supporting sponsors will be present along with the Riot Squad and basketball teams sporting the shirts.”