Curtis, Port Richmond to be Part of AthLife's 'Scholarship Madness Campaign'

Curtis' Forward P.A.S.S. program has been nothing short of a touchdown since its inception in 2011.

AthLife Foundation President and Founder, Jon Harris, accepted a challenge to make 1,100 free throws during an 11-school tour across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania within a 24-hour time frame to fund scholarships for the graduating class of 2016.

Port Richmond HS will also be a part of the fundraiser thru Port Richmond's Academic-Athletic Support Program.

It will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Port Richmond HS gym.

Joe Baratta, a special education teacher and Junior Varsity football coach at Curtis High School, began the Forward P.A.S.S. program in 2011 at Curtis to help student-athlete development.

"We wanted to set up academic and athletic support for our students," said Baratta.

The program started with football players to create successful high school students who would be leaders in the school, contributing members to the community, and responsible people who would be prepared for life after high school and productive members of society.

Since then, the program has branched out to basketball, lacrosse and softball.