Westhampton Beach, New York – December 12, 2013– Recognizing that community service helps promote responsibility and character in young people, TeamUp4Community has partnered with Metrx and NBTY Helping Hands on the “10,000 Hours L.I. Holiday Sports Challenge.” This interactive contest challenged our Long Island Athletes to complete a combined 10,000 hours of community service during the holiday season. Three prizes totaling $5,000 in sports grants for the student athletes will be awarded in December 2013.
“NBTY Helping Hands & Metrx are very proud to team up with the W20 Foundation in support of their Team Up 4 Community program,” said Jim Flaherty, Director, NBTY Helping Hands. “It’s an inspiring program that allows athletes to win in their local communities by taking action and volunteering to help those in need. “
Yesterday, the “10,000 Hours L.I. Holiday Challenge” successfully completed submissions, amounting to 19,597 hours of community service work performed by Long Island Athletes between September 1, 2013 to December 11, 2013. The value of their time served in the community is valued at over $142,078 given back in service. Team Up 4 Community nearly doubled its initial goal of completing 10,000 hours of community service work during this community service challenge.
The interactive contest, which ran from November 11, 2013 to December 13, 2013, also required participating student athletes between the ages of 6 – 24 to share a short video (up to 2 minutes in length) of their community service work or their team’s community service work that is posted on Team Up 4 Community’s YouTube Page. The top 10 videos with the highest number of views on YouTube is posted on the www.TeamUp4Community.org website for viewers to vote on. The voting will take place from December 13 to December 15. The winner will be announced on December 16th.
The video with the most votes will receive a $3,000 sports grant; the second-most voted video, a $1,500 sports grant; and the third-most voted video, a $500 sports grant. For official contest rules go to www.TeamUp4Community.org
“Similar to athletics, volunteering in your community helps build character and self-esteem in young people, while at the same time helping make a difference in the lives of others. I truly am impressed by all of the student athletes in Long Island who participated in the 10,000 Hours L.I. Holiday Sports Challenge by doing helpful work in the community – joining together to collectively make a difference,” said Steve Webb, Team Up 4 Community Founder and President. “We are hoping the digital component to this challenge goes viral and quickly reaches thousands of young Long Island athletes. The contest’s online viewing and voting components for friends and family will surely make the contest entertaining for all!”
One highlight of the “10,000 Hours L.I. Holiday Sports Challenge” included an entry from Brentwood, N.Y. student athletes. Brentwood student athletes teamed up and completed over 8,500 hours of community service work alone within their own community. JV and Varsity High School athletes participated in events such as feeding the homeless, cleaning up the courtyards at Brentwood high school, holding sports clinics twice a week for the local youth, as well as hosting coat, food and toy drives which is essential around the holiday season. In fact, the high school athletes even engaged a youth cheerleading group from the local elementary school in their efforts. Brentwood athletes truly demonstrated what the challenge was all about: through the act of sharing, their community service work provides a positive example that will INSPIRE others to take ACTION in their own communities as well, creating a ripple effect! The Brentwood athletes are still continuing this weekend in their community service efforts. On Saturday December 14, 2013 they are hosting a toy drive at the boys high school basketball game at 5:45 PM.
Retired New York Islanders forward Steve Webb created project Team Up 4 Community through his W20 Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to promoting social responsibility and community giveback through athletics. By highlighting different types of community service, young athletes will learn life skills that in turn increase their self-confidence, promote responsibility and independence, and help build strong character. Community services performed by youth strengthens their sense of civic engagement and community and helps them to achieve their educational, developmental and social goals.
