Westborough – About 200 student athletes gathered at Westborough High School for their annual Rangers Give Back Day Aug. 21. There were cheerleaders, hockey players, soccer players, golfers, cross country runners, field hockey players and more all first congregating together before they went off to their respective community service assignments throughout the town. Leading this year’s event was senior Bethany Woodcock, a three sport athlete.

Each student athlete was given a t-shirt and was then assigned to a location where they spent three hours volunteering for assignments, such as weeding and mulching at different locations in town or working at the school doing things such as stapling first-day packets, painting paw prints on a walkway, and delivering them, re-arranging and cleaning the trophy cases.

Before the students dispersed to their team’s assigned locations, Johanna DiCarlo, the school’s athletic director, and Woodcock addressed the group.

“Remember what this day is about and take pride in what you are doing today,” DiCarlo said. “This is a great opportunity to show the town just how much we appreciate all that they do for us.”

“This day is about giving back,” added Woodcock. “It’s our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community. I’d also like to thank the Booster Club for supplying the t-shirts and the ice cream provided today.”

At noon, all of the participants were treated to Uhlman Farms ice cream at the high school.

“We are so proud of the Rangers Give Back Day. This is truly a student-led event and one of the best events we hold all year,” said DiCarlo. “The student-athletes recognize how fortunate they are to have such a supportive town like Westborough and they are happy to give back to the community that supports them so much. I believe this is the sixth year we are doing this.”

“There is really no other community service day like this one,” Woodcock said. “Everyone has such a positive attitude that it’s really contagious and everyone just steps up to the plate and works together. It’s so nice to see this. In addition, everyone that we help is so appreciative and supportive.”

Next year, Julia French will take over the task of leading the Rangers Give Back Day. The three sport athlete is already looking forward to taking the reigns on this event and is learning all that is involved in making this day a success.

Boys’ soccer Co-Captain Noah Jaeger Bruehl, a senior and fourth-year participant in this event, shared his thoughts of the day.

“It’s great for everyone to come together as a team in a more formal way and bond,” he said. “Plus, it is really a lot of fun.”

Student-athlete Rangers ‘give back’ to local community

On Aug. 1, over 100 people were gathered under the setting sun at the Lynbrook Village Pool in Greis Park. The pool was packed with people swimming laps back and forth, all of them doing so to raise money for cancer research as part of the 9th annual Lynbrook Swim Across America.

The event is registered as part of the larger Swim Across America organization, which hosts hundreds of swims throughout the year all across the country

The swimmers were comprised of people of all different ages, ranging from young children to adults, although the majority of the participants were adolescents or younger. As the swimmers swam their laps, family and friends of the participants sat in chairs stationed around the pool, supporting them and cheering them on.

Participants raised money beforehand in order to be a part of the event, with prizes given out if certain thresholds were reached. Upon registering, swimmers pledged to swim a half-mile, a mile, or two miles in the pool. Altogether, approximately $16,000 was raised at this year’s event, while about $150,000 has been raised over the swim’s nine-year history in Lynbrook. For the second straight year, Lynbrook Village Pool swim team member Jason Diaz was the top fundraiser, generating $1,410 in sponsorships.

“It feels really good,” said Shiobhan Stapleton, one of the event’s coordinators. “Over the past nine years, it’s shocking how well we’ve done — $150,000 is a lot for a neighborhood swim.”

Stapleton, along with fellow event coordinator Emily Bergin, are students at Lynbrook High School, and have been deeply involved with the swim since its expansion into Lynbrook. Both raised their own funds and swam at the event, in addition to serving in their roles as event organizers.

In all, over 85 participants came together to fundraise. The money will be donated to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an organization based in New York City that has many locations across the tristate area. The money will be used to fund cancer research.

This year, under the direction of club adviser Monica Marlowe, the Sachem High School North Envirothon club volunteered at the Walter S. Commerdinger Jr. County Park in Lake Ronkonkoma.

As part of the Great Brookhaven Cleanup, students helped remove garbage, environmental debris and invasive species from the park grounds. The experience served as an introduction to a local open space and was an excellent opportunity to volunteer within the Sachem community.

 

Photo Caption: Cleanup.JPG: The Sachem High School North Envirothon club helped to remove garbage, environmental debris and invasive species from park grounds.

 

Photo courtesy of the Sachem Central School District

 

West Islip’s Manetuck Elementary School again sponsored a fundraiser for the Riverhead Foundation’s work in rehabilitating injured seals. Guided by teachers Kerri Ierardi and Sue Marullo, who run the school’s Community Service Club, students walked in the bus circle to raise $2,900 for this year’s sponsored seal, named Victorious.

The top three student fundraisers were first-grader Shane Hofer and second-graders Aaron Sokol and Lily Tufariello, earning them the right to open the cage for the seal’s release into the ocean at Robert Moses State Park, an event attended by hundreds of students and parents.

 

Manetuck Seal Release 1: teachers Kerri Ierardi and Sue Marullo with top Riverhead Foundation seal release fundraisers Lily Tufariello, Aaron Sokol and Shane Hofer.

 

Photo courtesy of the West Islip School District

The premier fundraising event supporting the W20 Foundation’s Project TU4C

Old Brookville, NY, August 9, 2018- To kick off the 2018-2019 Community Service Challenges, the TU4C program is excited to announce the Team Up 4 Community Golf Outing. This will take place on Thursday, August 9, 2018 at the beautiful Brookville Country Club in Old Brookville, NY. The support you bring from this outing lends a strong hand in aiding the Foundation all while furthering the growth of these youth athletes’ community service projects and education. The results lead to an increase in the number of individuals and lives they impact, along with their own.

 

TU4C engages and empowers youth athletes and others to initiate community service projects through online challenges. The platform also provides them with an interactive set of resources to advocate and promote their social responsibilities amongst peers, families, schools, organizations and their communities. Our website serves as the central hub to launch these programs and meet the needs of these athletes, organizations, and communities

 

The support you bring to this golf outing helps to create an environment where youth athletes and others can partake in community service and surround themselves with other like-minded, positive people who care about social responsibility.

 

About Team Up 4 Community

TU4C is an international community giveback project of the W20 Foundation. We are continuously building character among athletes through the promotion and collaboration of community service and social responsibility. Athletes are constantly doing community service, but there is a lack of a central source for athletes to get recognized for their work and inspire others to participate in community service projects. With continuous support, W20 Foundation can achieve a greater impact for social responsibility and community giveback.