Men’s Lacrosse Finds Green Thumb With Garden Vines

Hempstead, N.Y. – The Adelphi University men’s lacrosse program traded in their sticks for gardening tools on Friday afternoon as they paired up with an organization called Garden Vines.

The team split into two groups and visited Barak Obama Elementary School and Jackson Elementary School, where they spent a few hours preparing the grounds and helping maintain and harvest the produce from the school gardens.

The connection between the men’s lacrosse program and the organization started when a representative from the organization came and spoke to the Adelphi Student Athlete Advisory Committee earlier in the school year.

Garden Vines is a not-for-profit collaborative between Reigning in Life Training Center (a faith-based, not-for-profit organization in the Village of Hempstead) and Cynthia Proscia, Registered Dietitian and Clinical Professor at Adelphi University. Its mission is to cultivate and maintain healthy communities by creating or expanding food-bearing gardens that will bridge cultural, socioeconomic and generational gaps. The gardens provide environments that facilitate authentic learning experiences for multi-generational community members to become lifelong learners.

“I cannot wait to see how beneficial these gardens are to the elementary school students in Hempstead,” commented junior Michael Papach. “I urge everyone to help out with Garden Vines any way that they can. Just a small donation or a few hours of your time can make a huge difference in the community.”