BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Students from Sacred Heart, Nardin, St Joe's, and Canisius participated in the Fiesta Bowl 3-on-3 basketball tournament Saturday to raise awareness for mental health.
Berryman Drive in Synder is the birthplace of the Fiesta Bowl, it started as a simple pick-up game five years ago with Nick Revelas and his friends.
Over the years the event has evolved, starting out as a 12 person show to now an over 350 player tournament.
Revelas has used this event to put a special focus on mental health awareness following the loss of a close friend, Devin Waring, to suicide in 2017.
Horizon Health Services is the main recipient of the money raised by the players participating and it has developed a special assistance program which ensures students and families have the availability to speak to a licensed counselor at no charge.
Five years ago I started the Fiesta Bowl with the idea of bringing people together for terrible basketball, great food, and the best party of the year. As we mourned the loss of our friend Devin Waring, we have seen the importance around awareness and having an outlet that our friends and family can speak to if needed. We have been able to turn the Fiesta Bowl into a platform to make change and come together for a cause bigger than us. It has been unbelievable to see the response from the community, everyone has been willing to lend a helping hand and we have all bought in to the idea that everyone involved with Fiesta Bowl is one family, all coming together to tackle depression and raise awareness around mental health.
