Number of Participants: 10
Hours Donated: 8
Value of Time Served: $676
Event Type: Children & Youth
Sport: Schools
Date: October 25, 2024
Location:
Farmingdale State College
New York 110, Farmingdale
NY
About:
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | Ten student-athletes from Farmingdale State College helped provide smiles for local youth Friday night (Oct. 25), as they hosted a carnival atmosphere at Northside Elementary School during their “Trunk or Treat” event.
The FSC student-athletes represented half of the Rams’ varsity sports, and set up Northside’s gymnasium to play host to relay races, ring toss and other carnival-style games during the two-hour event for children ranging from kindergarten to grade 5. Farmingdale State’s student-athletes began to interact with students at Northside this past spring, when team members visited various classrooms at the elementary school throughout the final months of the academic year.
“Seeing the smiles and memories that our student-athletes created in the Halloween spirit was truly remarkable,” said Tom Emberley, director of athletic communications and advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Farmingdale State. “Building off of the successful classroom visits last spring at Northside – which is located roughly one mile away from our campus – it is very rewarding to our staff and coaches to see the impact that our student-athletes can make outside of a competitive environment. All of our student-athletes at Farmingdale State participate in community service projects as part of their teams and this event was not only an extension of that, but also provided great collaboration – both with a neighboring elementary school, as well as with members of our varsity teams.”
Student-athletes that represented Farmingdale State at the event included: junior Kimberlyn David (women’s cross country/track and field; Mastic Beach, N.Y.); senior Sarah Fava (women’s lacrosse, and SAAC vice president; Lynbrook, N.Y.); senior Matthew Flood (baseball; Islip, N.Y.); sophomore Carly Livingston (women’s lacrosse, and Northside Elementary School alumna; Farmingdale, N.Y.); senior Loamy Maldonado (women’s cross country/track and field; Brentwood, N.Y.); sophomore Aiden Mehmel(baseball; Mastic Beach, N.Y.); junior Connor Murtha (men’s lacrosse; Moriches, N.Y.); junior Samantha Stolfi (softball/women’s tennis, and SAAC secretary; Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.); junior Krystal Sulin (women’s lacrosse; Nesconset, N.Y.); and freshman Jordan Tucker (men’s basketball; Elmont, N.Y.).
What the Farmingdale State student-athletes are saying about their participation in the “Trunk or Treat” event at Northside Elementary School:
Kimberlyn David: “It was such a fun and wonderful experience to see the children so excited about winning the carnival games. Being able to provide encouragement and see the children so happy made the evening very rewarding for me.”
Carly Livingston: “I felt the event was great. The kids got to play games and have fun outside of school in their costumes, and interact with us. The children look up to us, and were able to show their creativity and play games while in costume.”
Loamy Maldonado: “I enjoyed seeing the smiles on the elementary students’ faces. It was heartwarming to witness how excited they were to engage in the fun activities we had organized. This was a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the community, and I believe it allowed the student-athletes to connect with the Northside students and their families.”
Aiden Mehmel: “I was very excited to be able to connect with the kids and give them a night to enjoy. I always looked forward to interactions with older athletes when I was younger, so I really wanted them to see the character that goes into being a college student-athlete. In addition to being able to connect with and get to know my fellow student-athletes from other teams, the fun and competitive nature between the games we ran was also an integral part of the night.”
Samantha Stolfi: “Being able to go to Northside again was another great experience. I had so much fun seeing all the kids in costume, and it made me smile knowing what a difference we were making for them. I remember being so excited for my school’s Halloween events growing up. The trip solidified my aspirations of wanting to work with children in the future.”
