When the Staples girls’ volleyball team hosted Stamford High School on Tuesday, Oct. 15, they were playing for a much greater cause than usual. Rach’s Hope, an organization and club dedicated to Ellie Doran’s ’20 sister Rachel that works to raise awareness and money to help families combat critical illness, sponsored Tuesday’s game. 

Doran is a student and volleyball player at Staples, and the game meant more than usual. 

“It felt really good knowing that the game was centered around a really good cause and something really important to my family,” Doran said. “It also made me smile knowing that we were honoring my sister Rachel because she deserves to be known. I felt a lot of love from my teammates, so I’m super grateful to have such an amazing support system behind me.”

Student members of Rach’s Hope handed out wristbands at the game, and both fans and players wore t-shirts with the name of the organization. The ultimate goal of the game was to raise awareness for chronic illness. 

“The charity is designed to help and provide necessities for patients and families,” Rach’s Hope member Ginger Ellis ’20 said. “Whether that’s bringing them food in the hospital or providing transportation, it’s our goal to help as much as possible.”  

Dan Woog, a staff member at Staples High School and blog writer, wrote multiple stories on Rachel. One of which included Senator Will Haskel naming a highway in Connecticut as the Rachel Doran Memorial Highway in remembrance of her.  

Students and parents learned about Rach’s Hope and many showed their support by donating to the charity and attending Tuesday’s game. They enjoyed seeing the girls win when playing for such an important cause. 

“It was great that the girls got the win as they were playing for such an important cause,” JT Shapiro ’22 said. “Hearing about what they were playing for really made us want to go out and support them.” 

The win improved their record to 8-7 on the season. 

The girls will be playing with Rach’s Hope in mind as they look to make a playoff push throughout their next 8 games. Players on the team embraced the opportunity to play in the game, and it is something they will not forget. 

“We have seen the way Ellie and her family have grown so much since last summer,” team captain Mallory Legg ’20 said. “We decided to play in honor of Rachel and her family not only to show our support to the Dorans, but everyone in and outside of our lives who have been impacted by any chronic illness.”