Neighbors | Submitted.Ursuline Principal Matt Sammartino and Cardinal Mooney Principal Mark Vollmer were held at the Youngstown City Jail as part of a joint charity event between the schools.
Neighbors | Submitted.Cardinal Mooney students celebrate their win on and off the field by holding a check for the total amount raised by both schools for Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley.
On Oct. 21, Cardinal Mooney High School, located at 2545 Erie St,, and Ursuline High School, located at 750 Wick Ave., both of Youngstown, had a unique fundraiser to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley revolving around their big rival football game at YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium.
On the week of game day, Principals Mark Vollmer (Cardinal Mooney) and Matt Sammartino (Ursuline) were “arrested” and kept until they “made bail.” The Youngstown Police, however, graciously allowed the principals out on “work release” so that they could guide their schools through their respective celebrations.
On the morning of the game, social media blasts, emails and calls to parents notified the schools’ communities that they could text pledges to ACHMV by texting RIVALS to 91999 to raise their principal’s bail. The school that pledged the most money by kickoff released their principal first. The schools banded together to raise more than $4,100 dollars for the cause.
Cardinal Mooney raised the most money and Vollmer was bailed out first on the midfield at halftime, where a check for the total amount raised by both schools was presented to ACHMV.