CM Athletics Fall Community Service Challenge

Thank you, thank you and Thank you to all Fall Sport Teams who participated in the Community Service Challenge this Fall to assist Healing Hands Helping Hearts to aid the Unity Basketball League in their events on 11/20 and 11/28.  The winner of this Community Challenge is………..DRUM ROLE PLEASE…….  The Girls Volleyball Team with 82 items donated.

The total numbers of donations were 691 items which will help to assist “Helping Hands healing Hearts” assist in the Thanksgiving Community Dinner on 11/20/21 and the “Ride Along” event on 11/28/21 which the Basketball Unity League will distribute personal bags to the homeless and selected Group homes by motorcycles, bikes and on foot in the area of Washington DC and Maryland where the Unity Basketball League has been established.  The Unity Basketball League was established in 2020 by former students and athletes of Center Moriches High School Erik Lanham, a CM Hall of Famer and Donald Lanham.

Pictures from these two events will be taken and a video will be put together .  Once again, thank you for your Helping Hands to Heal Hurting Hearts.

(Fall Golf also participated in this Community Service Challenge event also with 25 items donated. )

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The inclusion of Sports Teams and the Community Service Challenge began when I transferred from the Center Moriches High School Office to the Center Moriches Athletic Office in 2016. This year the Community Service challenge was conducted during the Fall amongst our Fall Sports Teams.  The Girls Volleyball took first place with a submission of 82 donations, followed by the Fall Golf Team with 25 donations.  In total with a combination of the Sport Team donations, HS Clubs, and HS Honor Societies donations we were able to distribute hot foods, coats, winter clothing, and personal bags to over 200 people. 

 

As Chairperson of the Outreach Mission in my local church, we established a nonprofit entitled 👫HELPING HANDS HEALING HEARTS”, where our Mission is: Going into the highway and hedges with Helping Hands to Heal Hurting Hearts.  Our Purpose is: To be a vessel for the building of the Kingdom according to 1 John 3:17.   Each Winter we make preparations for our annual Midnight Mission that was created in 2014 where we literally go out into the streets at Midnight, from 10PM – 12 midnight, the week of Christmas, into different communities from Patchogue to Southampton to feed the homeless with a homemade hot meal and distribute coats, winter clothing and gallon ziploc bags of personal items.  We also give out emergency resource information for drug abuse, alcohol abuse, domestic violence abuse, emotional disorder resources, emergency housing info etc. 

 

When I saw the Community Service Challenge issued by NYSPHSSA, I asked permission from Administration to conduct a Community Service challenge within the Sports Teams as well as the Honor Societies and HS Clubs within the District.  We were unable to take photos going into the local communities at midnight because many of the homeless wanted their privacy protected and were concerned about being ejected from a place they called “home.” 

 

It was not until this year, when our Outreach Ministry made a decision to assist our sons, Erik and Donald Lanham, who are graduates of Center Moriches and retired from the Military, in the Washington DC area with two events during our Thanksgiving Break, that I was able to have photos of the event to submit to the NYSPHSSA Community Service challenge.  Once retired from the US Army, our eldest son, Erik went to George Mason University and completed his B.S. in Political Science.  Donald, our second son, first received his B.S. in Accounting at Hampton Univ, then entered and retired from the US Army and then went to UCONN and completed his M.S. in Kinesiology.  Currently, Erik is a Sr. Network Engineer for Pew Charitable Trust in Washington D.C. and Donald works as a Contract Specialist for the Dept. Of Transportation in Washington D.C. 

 

Sports were always a major part of my life.  My mom who is deceased, Betty Jean Grigg Johnson, a graduate from Southampton in 1958 was a Gold Key Athlete.  I, Jean Michele Johnson Lanham, who also graduated from Southampton in 1976 was a Gold Key Athlete.  Our four children, Erik, E. Donald, Emmanuel and Elisabeth Lanham, all graduates of Center Moriches and all joined Military forces were Gold Key Athletes as well.  I was so grateful to be able to utilize this Athletic platform to be able to help others.  Helping others began early in my years when my Grandmother, Helen Johnson, who lived in Southampton would distribute out Thanksgiving Dinner among those in the community who were in need.  And as you know there are many living in the “Elite” Hamptons who are in need.