Instead of shooting hoops in the gym, the Keene State Women’s Basketball team spent their Saturday washing cars at M&T Bank on West Street in Keene. For 37 years, the basketball team has done an annual car wash, partnering with local charities. For 2026, the team partnered with Silver Wings, an elderly benefit organization.
Head Coach Keith Boucher said he believes in helping people around him, and that the car wash is a great opportunity to do so. “I don’t want people to take for granted the things we have in our life, and we don’t appreciate what other people have done for us, and sometimes it takes a long time to realize that, I decided when I got here that we [should] do something for the community that will benefit somebody in need,” Boucher said. “It’s a small thing. We spend six hours doing something for the community and I don’t think that’s too much to ask about. The players all understand.”
Boucher began the tradition when he was first appointed head coach and has continued to support it 37 years later. “We started it when I got here,” Boucher said. “I just thought it was a good way for our [players] to get out in the community and show that they appreciate what they have at the college and all the people in the community, the people that come to our games.”
Last year, the car wash benefited a senior citizen recovering from double amputation, according to the Keene Sentinel. The car wash has also benefited communities in Swanzey that lost their homes in a fire in 2019.
Sophomore forward Bella Schulz-Mitchell described the organization the team was raising money for, Silver Wings. “All our money is going to people that help out elderly people in [the Monadnock] region,” Schulz-Mitchell said. “They help out with financial needs, bills and stuff, and home needs, and anything else they really need. It’s really great, because you don’t really see a lot of things like that nowadays.”
Boucher said that the event was an important team-building exercise. “I think it’s a great team-building activity,” Boucher said. “In life, no one gets there alone. We all have people in our lives that help us along the way, and hopefully they understand that and they feel good about themselves when the day is done. I think you feel better about yourself when you do something for someone else, as opposed to when you do something for yourself.”
First-year guard Sophia Grillone is excited for the upcoming season. “We’re gonna do amazing,” Grillone said. “We’re ramping up for the season, getting our lifts in, getting our pickup [games] in and getting to know everyone. We’re super excited.”
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
