Norwin boosters, friends present Ty Bilinsky with check to help with medical expenses
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Sunday, August 8, 2021 | 5:53 PM
Norwin boys basketball boosters and former teammates presented Ty Bilinsky with a check to help with his medical expenses. Pictured are (back row, from left) Michael Fleming, Jayden Walker, Nck Fleming, Josh Williams, Adam Bilinsky, and Rick Thomas, booster vice president; front row, booster secretary Sue Mihalov and Ty Bilinsky.
Norwin’s Ty Bilinsky dribbles around Hempfield defender Blake Remaley in WPIAL basketball on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019 at Norwin High School.
Norwin’s boys basketball boosters and several former teammates presented Ty Bilinsky with a check for $5,900 on Sunday, the culmination of months-long fundraising efforts to help the recent Knights graduate with medical costs.
Bilinsky suffered a stroke and later was diagnosed with a blood disorder and an enlarged spleen during his senior year.
He only played a few games, but after treatment and medication he was eventually cleared to play at the college level. He will walk on at Pitt-Johnstown.
The navy-and-gold “#TyStrong” shirts sold by the boosters became popular throughout the season as a number of teams around the WPIAL wore them for pregame warmups.
The boosters sold nearly 1,000 shirts, while another recent Norwin grad, Josh Williams, started a GoFundMe page for Bilinsky that had reached more than $19,000.
“It was a really nice moment to watch the check get presented to the family,” said Nick Fleming, another one of Bilinsky’s team and classmates. “They were extremely grateful for the money. You could tell it definitely meant a lot to the entire family.”
Said Willliams: “It was amazing to see Ty receive the check. From the GoFundMe and the T-shirts, we raised well over what we thought we would. It’s very nice to see that the community has Ty’s back.”
Extremely grateful to have been a part of presenting Ty with his check for the #TYSTRONG campaign. Thanks to everyone who purchased the shirts to make this check possible. @BillBeckner @NorwinBoys @norwinathletics pic.twitter.com/ntXvkjHoO5
— Nick Fleming (@nickfleming03) August 8, 2021
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Norwin
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