He’s only in seventh grade, but Ryan Hirschhorn already has a long history of helping others. The student at Berner Middle School in the Massapequa School District recently hosted an event to raise money for medical aid for Ukraine. 

Hearts for Ukraine, a fundraiser and celebration of art, was held at the Long Island Children’s Museum on Jan. 6. In addition to guest speakers, there was a performance by a Ukrainian children’s dance troupe and a viewing of Ryan’s Hearts for Ukraine sculptures. The event raised about $20,000 for Project C.U.R.E., which provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including medical equipment and supplies.

Ryan’s artwork was inspired by a paper heart sculpture he made in fourth grade at Birch Lane Elementary School. At the fundraiser, he acknowledged his Magnet program teacher, Kelsey Downey, who assigned that project. After the war in Ukraine began, Ryan created his first Hearts for Ukraine sculpture, a collection of different sized aluminum blue and yellow hearts, representing the country’s colors. That was displayed at Birch Lane for a few weeks at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, and during the summer at Maimonides Park, where the Brooklyn Cyclones play, for a game between the Ukrainian national baseball team and the FDNY and NYPD.

He has created two more sculptures since. One is a nine-foot by nine-foot heart wall with blue and yellow hearts that are lit by LED lights. It includes an ultrasound motion sensor that increases the brightness of the lights as someone gets closer. The eight-inch thick wall is intentionally cracked and chipped to resemble walls of buildings that have been damaged during fighting in Ukraine.

The other sculpture, “Peace and Progress,” features white and silver hearts. White represents peace and silver is for progress. Behind the aluminum hearts is a mural with a rainbow array of hearts and a dove. Ryan noted that all of his sculptures are filled with symbolism. 

“I love to help people, and doing this is helping a lot of people,” Ryan said, noting that his recent charity event, combined with one last year, have collectively raised about $40,000 for Project C.U.R.E. 

Ryan said that with the war in Ukraine nearing a year, he is concerned that people may have forgotten about it. He empathizes with children there who constantly leave in fear, and said it gives him perspective about the gravity of problems. 

“We need to raise awareness because it’s been almost a year,” he said. “Nobody really knows what’s going on over there and we need to change that.”

Ryan’s guidance counselor, Nick Breslin, was struck by the magnitude of Ryan’s efforts, as well as his strong desire to help others.

“It’s inspiring that he wants to spread awareness for what’s going on over there,” Mr. Breslin said. “It comes from a place of wanting to help.”

As a fifth grader, Ryan and classmate Tyler Uberti teamed up with the Kids for Kids Foundation to raise more than $5,000 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. They organized a virtual polar plunge, in which participants could submit a video of themselves jumping into a body of water or doing another cold activity, then donate to St. Jude.  

 

Photo captions:

1: Berner Middle School seventh grader Ryan Hirschhorn recently organized a charity event that raised more than $20,000 for Project C.U.R.E. to send military aid to Ukraine.

2: Ryan talked about his Hearts of Ukraine fundraiser with Principal Jason Esposito and executive assistants to the principal Keri Wing, left, and Beth Mullins, who said they are extremely impressed with Ryan’s philanthropic spirit.

 

Photos courtesy of the Massapequa School District

With encouraging cheers echoing throughout the auditorium, a student from the P10X School playfully grabbed a Horace Greeley High School wrestler by the head and rolled him onto his back on the mat, leaning his body weight against him. Coach Anthony Tortora confirmed the pin. The room erupted in applause and howls as the winning student excitedly danced while everyone roared in celebration of his success.

Before the holidays, Coach Tortora brought his varsity Greeley wrestling team to P10X in the South Bronx, where he teaches, for students to spend time together and gain valuable insight about their advantages in life. The students talked, practiced wrestling, and shared pizza and desserts. Each P10X student was given a holiday gift. This field trip in mid-December has become “one of Greeley Wrestling’s best traditions,” said senior Ben Gottlieb.

Over the past nine years – including two where the event was virtual due to the pandemic – the partnership has strengthened. P10X, a New York City public school located in Throgs Neck, is a well-celebrated District 75 school where every student has an Individualized Education Plan. Its students either have autism, Down syndrome or are emotionally disturbed.

“I want Greeley athletes to learn gratitude, perspective and an open mind,” said Coach Tortora. “I would hope all athletes can look at someone different than them, and accept and engage with them as they would anyone else.”

The trip was successful and has altered the perspective of Greeley wrestlers. Senior Tommy Antes explained that he learned to be grateful for what he has and to view everything in life as an opportunity. He especially inherited the mindset that focuses on opportunity over obstacles.

“I don’t have to go to wrestling practice, I get to go to wrestling practice; I don’t have to do my homework, I get to do my homework; I don’t have to walk to class, I get to walk to class,” Tommy said. “Getting to spend the holidays with the P10X students is special to them and to us. It’s really nice to do something special for someone else. Getting to see how happy the students are with us makes me happy and proud to be part of something amazing.”

Ben’s family was tasked with organizing the toy drive and secured a gift for each of the 78 students. The gifts were donated by Greeley wrestlers, their parents and other coaches.

“Celebrating the holiday with them was very important,” said Ben. “For many, this could be their only gift. For others, it could be their only chance to win anything close to what we do in our matches. Coming off of a devastating loss the night before (at the Section I Dual Meet Championship), it was important to get a perspective on what loss means. We were lucky to have the opportunity to even wrestle a match, let alone compete for a section dual meet title.”

Ben continued to say that their positive and thankful perspective is ushering the varsity wrestlers into the second half of the season. In early February, the grapplers will compete at the Sectional Qualifier/Divisionals, hoping to secure a chance to wrestle at the Sectionals/State Qualifier in mid-February and, eventually, the New York State Championship in late February.

“One of the things in my head before a big match is how grateful I am to have the opportunity to compete for my team, my school and myself,” said Ben. “After this trip to P10X, everyone – from a freshman who has never gotten a varsity start to seniors who are competing for a title – is full of gratitude.”

Coach Tortora stressed the importance of the two schools assembling for the event, noting that his P10X students are delighted to see the Greeley athletes every year. The wrestlers understand that Chappaqua is a great community to be a part of and has advantages, he said. While the Throgs Neck community has much to take pride in, including its rich diversity, it is a lower-income area with a higher crime rate. So he appreciates that his athletes enjoy sharing their time and resources.

“This trip has taught me that there is always someone who would love to switch places with you, so make the most of what you have,” Tommy said. “Celebrating the holidays with Coach’s students is important to me because it puts things into perspective and makes me grateful for what I have.”

https://www.chappaquaschools.org/district/departments/public-information/highlights/2022-2023/january/hg-wrestling

Photo caption: The Westhampton Beach High School National Honor Society recently hosted a food drive competition between homerooms and collected more than 500 nonperishable food items that will be donated to Long Island Cares, a charity that helps the hungry and food insecure on Long Island. The winning homeroom received a bagel breakfast for donating an impressive 132 items. From left, are National Honor Society Officers Matt Biondi, president; Kristina Cavaliere, vice president; Emily Galovic, historian; Delaney Fay, treasurer; and Amanda Shannon, secretary.

 

Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Beach School District

Photo caption: Westhampton Beach High School Key Club and Interact members are making the season bright for families in need and for their peers. Recently, they spent an afternoon wrapping gifts for their annual Adopt-A-Family holiday gift-giving fundraiser. All of the gifts will be donated to families in need. The members of the Key Club also spent time decorating the main lobby of their school to spread holiday cheer. 

 

Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Beach Union Free School District