LATHAM, NY- The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is proud to announce the Canandaigua Academy Girls Volleyball Team (Section V) and the Eastport- South Manor Boys Volleyball Team (Section XI) as the winners of the Fall 2018 NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge. Both teams were chosen by the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) comprised of two current student-athletes from each of NYSPHSAA’s 11 member sections.

Established in the Fall of 2010, the program encourages students to get involved in their community. This year, NYSPHSAA has partnered with Team Up for Community to allow submissions using an online portal. The Team Up for Community portal provides schools the opportunity to showcase community service projects which ultimately fosters young peoples’ sense of civic engagement and community thus helping them achieve their educational, developmental and social goals. This is the first year NYSPHSAA will be honoring Community Service Challenge Champions after each sport season. In previous years, just one champion statewide was chosen at the end of the school year. This fall, 106 projects were submitted by NYSPHSAA member schools with a total of 4,844 student-athletes involved in the projects equaling over 60,000 hours volunteered.

The Canandaigua Academy Girls Volleyball team created sensory blankets for individuals in their local VA Hospital. Multiple steps were taken to plan and execute the project. First, the team spent weeks fundraising to buy supplies to create the blankets. Then, they devoted their time to cut, sew, pin and craft 68 blankets.

“We are extremely proud of the work our girls volleyball program did on behalf of our veterans at our local VA hospital,” said Jim Simmons, Canandaigua Academy Athletic Director. “Athletic programs are very fortunate to receive so much support from our community. When teams

take the opportunity to give back it is a reflection of their gratitude.”

According to Daina Marsh, Canandaigua Girls Volleyball Head Coach, the girls were dedicated to the project from start to finish. “We are so proud of our girls and their dedication to this project. It was such a humbling experience. Words could never fully express how thankful we are every day for the sacrifices our Veterans have made for our freedoms.”

“Volunteering for the VA was a great opportunity,” said Katie Stegall, Canandaigua senior Captain. “Getting to make the blankets was a perfect way for our team to bond and help the Veterans. I am so grateful for the opportunity to help give back to the people who have sacrificed so much for our country.”

The Eastport-South Manor (ESM) Boys Volleyball team participated in a Student Build project for the Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk. Habitat of Suffolk builds affordable single-family housing throughout Suffolk County. First, the team spent countless hours raising $1,400 to purchase materials necessary to build a home. Then, the student-athletes volunteered their time unloading and hanging sheetrock, building a form for a patio, mixing and pouring cement, and installing insulation.

According to Bill Kropp, ESM Boys Volleyball Head Coach, community service has been a tradition for the program. “I couldn’t be more proud of my boys and how they stepped up to continue the team’s tradition of helping others. With every effort to assist those in need, I saw their growth in becoming outstanding leaders in the community as well as on the court.”

“As a team, we love looking for opportunities to grow our team bond,” said ESM senior Justin Riccardelli. “Habitat for Humanity was the absolute perfect fit because we worked together as a team learning skills none of us knew. At the same time, we are supporting and giving back to our local community.”

William Madsen, Eastport-South Manor Athletic Director, has seen this team grow together for a decade and was not surprised of their commitment and success with the project.

“I’ve had the pleasure of watching this program grow and compete at a high level for ten years,” said Madsen. “I’ve not only enjoyed watching their championships, but’s it’s the way these boys have carried themselves on and off the court that I’m most proud of. They’ve done community projects for years with not a thought about receiving the recognition that the NYSPHSAA has bestowed upon us this year.”

Applications for the winter Community Service Challenge are now being accepted and can be

submitted by visiting http://nysphsaa.org/Educational-Programs/Community-Service. Deadline is March 4, 2019. For questions, please contact NYSPHSAA Assistant Director, Kristen Jadin at kjadin@nysphsaa.org or 518.690.0771.

Previous Community Service Challenge State Champions: 2018 – Farmingdale High School (Section VIII) 2017 – Akron High School (Section VI) 2016 – Mahopac High School (Section I) 2015 – Kings Park High School (Section XI) 2014 – Arlington High school (Section I) 2013 – Columbia High School (Section 2) 2012 – Ossining High School (Section I) 2011 – Adirondack Central School (Section III)

About NYSPHSAA (Twitter: @NYSPHSAA | Facebook: NYSPHSAA | YouTube: NYSPHSAASports): The New York State Public High School Athletic Association Inc. is a non-profit, voluntary, educational service organization composed of public, parochial, and private schools dedicated to providing equitable and safe competition for the students of its member schools. The organization conducts 32 championship events and governs the rules and regulations of high school athletics in New York State. Membership is open to secondary schools providing interschool athletic activities for boys and girls in grades 7-12.

Are you a Long Island athlete, team, or organization that gave back to your community this holiday season? If so, we want to hear from you! W20 Foundation’s Team Up 4 Community L.I. Holiday Sports Heroes Video Challenge 2018 is up and running until Monday, December 10th!

 

This challenge is a way for you to be a sports hero, whether it is helping someone in need or giving back to a cause in your community. The W20 Foundation wants to see how big of an impact we can make together in our Long Island communities.

 

All those who enter have a chance to receive a scholarship or grant. $5,000 in Scholarships & Grants will be awarded to the first, second, and third place winners. Voting begins on Tuesday, December 11 until Tuesday December 18. So share your stories on our website so friends, family, teammates, and more can see the impact you made and for a chance to win!

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Check out our website www.teamup4community.org/l-i-holiday-sports-heroes-video-challenge-2018 for different ways to particiapate around Long Island. And for more information about how to join the challenge, visit our website for instructions and much more!

Coach Henry Nunez’s East Islip Redmen football team, all 10-year-old students at the district’s John F. Kennedy and Ruth C. Kinney elementary schools, recently took up a food collection for the Adopt-A-Family Program through Long Island Cares food pantry to help those in need during the holiday season. The team collected enough food to feed 40 families this year, packing it and delivering it personally to Long Island Cares.

“The boys learned that there is no one factor that determines one’s struggles and that any face can be the face of hunger,” said team mom Kerri Ierardi. “This selfless task has given these players a greater understanding and appreciation for the blessings in their own lives, as well as the feeling of great pride in the power of giving back to and representing their community.”

 

Photo Caption: The East Islip Redmen football team, all 10-year-old students at John F. Kennedy and Ruth C. Kinney elementary schools, collected enough food to feed 40 families via the Adopt-A-Family Program through Long Island Cares food pantry.

 

Photos courtesy of the East Islip School District

Photo caption: The Pierson National Honor Society students in the Sag Harbor Union Free School District will participate at the 15th annual Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday, Dec. 8, at Cooper’s Beach in Southampton. Funds raised will support Heart of the Hamptons. To support and donate go to https://heartofthehamptons.org/user/piersonnhs/

 

Photo courtesy of Sag Harbor Union Free School District

Seaford High School’s annual food drive will benefit countless people this Thanksgiving following a combined effort by the student council and the community.

In the past, students at the high school, middle school and elementary school would bring in donations, and the food would be sorted to help local families. This year, it expanded to involve the entire Seaford community, as students left empty paper bags with fliers on doorsteps. On Nov. 18, they drove around town and collected any filled paper bags that people left out. Residents were asked to donate nonperishable items such as pasta and canned vegetables.

Teacher Tania Cintorino, who advises student council with Shari Raduazzo, said they decided to implement a strategy similar to the holiday toy drive.

“That’s been so successful in the past, so we tried it with the food drive,” she said. “Not everyone in the community has a student in the school, but are looking for ways to help others.”

The Monday before Thanksgiving, student council members were busy sorting donations that filled their office. In addition to providing full meals for 15 families, they will donate leftover items to the food pantries at St. William the Abbot Church and Maria Regina Church, and possibly other hunger relief organizations.

“I’ve never seen this much food in my life,” said Student Council President Chris Schneider. “It makes me love Seaford even more because I see how willing we are to give to our neighbors.”

Student council members at the middle school helped out by attaching the donation fliers to the bags. At Seaford Harbor Elementary School, student leaders made posters to raise awareness about the food drive. To ensure all needs were met, each grade was assigned an item, such as gravy, cranberry sauce or stuffing.

Fifth-grader Matthew Kind, vice president of the student council, said, “It makes me feel good inside that I’m helping people.”

 

Photo captions:

1: Seaford High School Student Council officers, from left, President Chris Schneider, Secretary Kayla Minasian and Vice President Melissa Schoenig sorted donations for the annual Thanksgiving food drive.

2: Fifth-grade student council members got the word out to their peers at Seaford Harbor Elementary School about the annual food drive.

 

Photos courtesy Seaford School District