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The Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School’s track and field team is ready for a new season thanks to a surprise donation.

Rebecca Kleiber, a senior at Guilderland High School, and a lector and Eucharistic Minister at Christ the King Church, helped raise $500 for the NDBG track team as part of an individual service project for the National Honor Society.

Kleiber presented the check — both a real one and a fun, giant cutout she made from cardboard — to NDBG’s track coach, Ken Kienzle, on Dec. 12 at the school.

“It’s going to go to great use,” Kienzle said. “The kids will really appreciate it.”

Kleiber, who runs for Guilderland’s cross country and track and field teams, wanted her project to be related to running. Not only did her project help NDBG’s sports team, it helped out a lifelong friend.

Up until fifth grade, Kleiber attended St. Madeleine Sophie School with her friend, Isaiah Batista. Even after transferring, the two have kept in touch, bonding over their shared interests. Batista also competes in track, doing shot put, discus, and long and triple jump for NDBG.

When Kleiber mentioned needing to come up with an idea for her service project, Batista jokingly said she should raise money for his track team. Funds for new equipment are hard to come by, he said, and Batista could think of a few items that needed replacing. It was an opportunity to not only aid a friend but a whole student body of runners.

Kleiber tied her summer miles training to raising money for the NDBG track team. By the end of the season, she raised $500 from friends and family for the miles she ran.

“I thought, from one friend to another, why not help him out and see what I can do,” she said.

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