Former teammates of slain PennWest student honoring her with fundraiser
The former teammates of 18-year-old Karoline Heintz, a Peters Township graduate and member of the high school’s field hockey team, are organizing a fundraiser during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in memory of the student-athlete, who was killed in August.
Heintz was found stabbed to death in the back of her SUV near the California Area Public Library on Aug. 20. Her boyfriend, Royce Moser, 18, and his mother, Rachel Moser, have been charged in connection with her death.
The field hockey team aims to raise $10,000 in October for the One Love Foundation, a national nonprofit that educates young people about the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and provides tools to help prevent relationship abuse. The organization also raises awareness about relationship abuse among young people.
The month-long campaign will kick off at the team’s Relationship Abuse Awareness Game on Monday, Oct. 5, at Confluence Financial Partners Stadium at Peters Township Middle School.
At the game, the team will launch “For Karoline, I Choose…,” where students and community members are invited to share their commitment to healthy relationships, such as choosing respect, speaking up, setting boundaries or supporting a friend.
In addition, throughout October, the team will hold the Karoline25 fundraiser, which includes a “25 for 25” challenge encouraging $25 donations in honor of Karoline, who wore No. 25.
For her former teammates, the goal is to honor Karoline while helping other young people have conversations about healthy relationships that can be difficult to start.
Karoline was preparing to start her freshman year at PennWest California.
In a statement, her field hockey teammates said, “To know Karoline, is to love her. She was kind-hearted, sweet, hardworking, and beautiful inside and out. She was the kind of friend and teammate you could always count on and someone who was always there for you, always in your corner, and always ready to cheer you on.”
To donate to Karoline25, visit https://give.joinonelove.org/team854373.