Battle of the Valleys kickball fundraiser raises more than $30,000

More than $30,000 came out of a fifth-grade kickball game in Conklin, and the money is already pointed toward local pantries and family assistance programs across Broome County. The 3rd Annual Kick It For Cans charity kickball game matched Donnelly and Brookside Elementary students from Susquehanna Valley Central School District against Chenango Bridge Elementary from Chenango Valley School District, with the Broome County Sheriff’s Office calling the event Battle of the Valleys.

The numbers tell the story of why the format keeps growing. The first Kick It For Cans event in 2024 raised $7,000 for the Saber Food Center Pantry, followed by $10,000 in 2025. This year, the two school districts generated $23,751 before the sheriff’s office added another $7,000, lifting the total above $30,000. The money is aimed at local school and community food pantries, while the Chenango Valley effort also supports the Warrior Fund, which helps families with food, clothes and utilities assistance.

The event took place Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Conklin and drew its purpose from a simple idea that started two years earlier. School Resource Officer Tony Wood came up with the tournament after seeing deputies join an impromptu kickball game during a 2023 donation drop-off at the Saber Food Center Pantry. That casual moment became a recurring fundraiser in 2024, then expanded again this spring as the school districts and law enforcement partners turned a neighborhood game into a larger charitable platform.

Susquehanna Valley Superintendent Natalie Brubaker said the expanded partnership was designed to grow the event’s impact and teach students teamwork, sportsmanship and action-based service leadership. Chenango Bridge Elementary Principal Jennifer Yurko also backed the effort as her school helped raise funds for the Warrior Fund. CHOW and the Broome County District Attorney’s Office were among the other supporting partners, giving the event a wider community-service network beyond the field.

Charity kickball has become a useful fundraising model because it is easy to stage, easy to follow and easy to turn into a rivalry people want to watch. Battle of the Valleys showed that clearly: fifth graders supplied the energy, the districts supplied the competition and the sheriff’s office helped push the final total into five figures that now have a direct destination in Broome County.