EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ – More than 500 students, facility, alumni and school staff from Egg Harbor Township turned out last week to blast one another with Nerf Balls to raise money for the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers.

The annual Nerf Ball Tournament is sponsored by the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) as a fundraiser for the HERO Campaign. It was held Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at Egg Harbor Township High School and drew a huge crowd of supporters who stomped and whistled through the six-hour tournament. When the event was finished, a single Nerf Ball team stood victorious: The Elite 8.

The night began at 6 p.m. with 62 teams, each with eight teammates. “With all of the supporters and teams here, we had about 1,000 people in the gymnasium,” said Christine Ryan, FBLA Adviser. “It was an amazing night, both for us and for the HERO Campaign.” Ryan said that the tournament raised about $4,000 for the campaign.

The HERO Campaign was established by the parents of Navy Ensign John Elliott, who lost his life to a drunken driver in July 2000. John had graduated two months earlier from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. where he was named the outstanding Human Education Resource Officer (HERO) of his class. John is also a graduate of EHT High School.

“We’re proud of the students at EHT who support the HERO Campaign,” said Bill Elliott, founder and chairman of the campaign. “We reach out to young people, and we have focused a lot of our energy on recruiting students to be HEROES.”

Young people are key to the HERO Campaign, Elliott said. “Our goal is to prevent future drunk driving tragedies by making the use of safe and sober designated drivers be as automatic as wearing a seatbelt.”

“I like to contribute to the community and to the HERO Campaign,” said Xavier Woodford, a member of the Sneakerheads team. “This tournament is fun to play and it has an important message for students.”

Carissa Hensyl, a member of the One Hit Wonders, said that in addition to the Nerf Ball Tournament, she also supported last year’s HERO Walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk. “These events are a great way to get the HERO Campaign’s message out to students,” Hensyl said. “The events are informative and fun, so they engage the people that need to hear that the cure for drunken driving is a designated driver.”

“Alcohol-related crashes cause about 200 deaths per year in New Jersey — accounting for about 32 percent of all traffic fatalities,” said Elliott. “That’s why we’re happy to see support for the HERO Campaign coming from young people. We want students to feel comfortable in choosing a sober designated driver.”

For more information about the HERO Campaign, visit www.herocampaign.org.