More than a decade ago, Mission Bay High School’s basketball coach and parents pulled together funds to designate a room to the boys athletic teams to meet and store their personal gear. Now it’s time to do the same for the female athletes, decided a few Mission Bay mothers. The parents raised nearly $24,000 to renovate a storage room into an environmentally friendly team room comprising recycled materials. Las Patronas, a volunteer group that provides grants to nonprofits, donated $20,000 for cabinets and lockers. The high school’s alumni association raised money for ultra-efficient ceiling fans and low violate organic compound (VOC) paint for the walls. Mission Beach Woman’s Club offered $4,000 to install recycled rubber floors. “What is really special in my mind about this project is that two women-run organizations – Las Patronas and Mission Beach Woman’s Club – were the large donors for the girls team room,” said Pam Deitz, director of the high school’s alumni association. Deitz has a child at Mission Bay High School and a child at Pacific Beach Middle School. “They made this vision possible for our young women. It is a fabulous message.” A parent of two basketball athletes at the high school, Kristen Victor spearheaded the project and wrote the grant with Jennifer Tandy, another parent at the school. Pat Hom, president of the Parent Teacher Organization, and Crystal Frasca, head of the PE department, assisted the effort. “There was no financial support offered whatsoever [by the school],” Victor said. “I approached the principal and she said, ‘Here’s the room but there’s no money.’” A few thousand is still needed to complete the girls team room. An interior designer, Victor believed the room should be renovated as environmentally friendly as possible. For example, the cabinets are made of recycled materials with water-based glues and stains that do not contain formaldehyde. “You don’t want to produce toxins when athletes are working out,” Victor said. “It’s about making choices that don’t provide that.” Victor has also written an educational model for the district outlining solutions and products for making “green choices.” “We’re very grateful and very appreciative of the efforts of the women, particularly Kristen Victor,” said Mission Bay Principal Cheryl Seelos, who had said the school budget could not fund renovations for the team room.