The Landing School K-Kids, led by Mrs. Margaret Clark and Mrs. Amy Mendrinos, held a Pen and Pencil sale to raise money to purchase two outdoor basketball rims for the school playground.

Physical education teacher Ms. Karen Serani spoke to the K-Kid advisers about doing a fundraiser for the rims. Students purchased various school supplies, which they can use in their daily routines at school and at home while also benefiting their beloved playground. The K-Kids were in charge of supervising the sale and keeping track of the inventory, as well as being able to make change, all of which are life skills, which will help them in their future career goals.

The two rims were purchased with the proceeds of the sale and were installed in April. Many thanks to Mr. Anthony Grazioso, Mr. Dennis Basile and Mr. James Abercrombie, for relining the basketball court and making the playground safe and beautiful. In addition, the K-Kids raised $380 for the American Heart Association during Landing School’s Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser.

Photo Captions:
Third-graders NaSean Barnes (left) and Jordan Robinson were excited to use the school’s new basketball rim.

Photos courtesy of the Glen Cove City School District

To student-athletes at the George Washington University, community service isn’t just a thing to do. Rather, it’s a way of life.

In winning its second consecutive NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition, GW Athletics once again showed that being a Colonial is more than just striving for excellence in competition. At GW, approximately 500 student-athletes competing in 27 varsity sports work tirelessly with coaches and administrators to become champions in competition, in the classroom, and as evidenced once again with this award, in the community.

“Serving our community is a hallmark of GW Athletics,” said Madison Townley, GW’s student-athlete development assistant. “It is important that our student-athletes recognize and support the community that supports us. We’re also thrilled that this pillar of what we do at GW extends far beyond the Capital Area and back to the communities where our student-athletes are from around the world.”

All told, GW student-athletes tallied more than 3,000 service hours since the competition began earlier this semester by participating in events with more than 60 nonprofit organizations. While the NCAA will honor the student-athletes later this month at GW, to the student-athletes, the biggest honor is giving back.

Mark Osis of GW Baseball organized the second annual PROJECT 25:40 Coat Drive with the help of other student-athletes to collect warm winter coats for the area’s homeless population this winter.

“It’s such a unique opportunity to live in such an incredible city,” said Osis. “For me it just makes sense to give back to the city that has helped make my last three years incredible.”

As for women’s diver Iman Lee, volunteering with GW’s Disability Support Services was a passion she pursued.

“I believe that all individuals should have the same opportunities to succeed,” said Lee. “What motivates me is the feeling I get knowing my efforts can make an impact.”

Other highlights of GW’s outreach projects included The Grassroot Project – an 8-week health education program geared to middle school students specifically in HIV and AIDS education – and the annual Colonial Harvest spearheaded by GW Lacrosse. The Colonial Harvest is a basket collection that provides food and toiletries to local families in need.

Hoping to top last academic year’s record total of 10,400 hours of community service performed, as men’s rowing’s Bob Hobert explains, “there is always more work to be done in the community!”

Source: http://www.gwsports.com/genrel/041917aaa.html

Sag Harbor Elementary School fifth-graders in Ms. JoAnn Kelly’s class recently raised more than $1,200 for the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of a “Laps for Love” fundraiser.
As part of the effort, the students procured sponsors who pledged to donate money for every lap students ran or walked around the elementary school’s playground.
The fundraiser was conducted in conjunction with a classroom lesson about human rights with students voting to make a difference by donating to a charity that helps others.

Photo Caption: Sag Harbor Elementary School fifth-graders raised money for the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of a Laps for Love fundraiser.

Photo courtesy of the Sag Harbor School District

More than 180,000 student-athletes from 450 colleges and universities compete in Division III sports, the largest NCAA division; nearly 44 percent are female. As substance abuse continues to be a health concern in colleges and universities across the U.S., a social scientist from the University of Missouri has found that female student-athletes who volunteer in their communities and engage in helping behaviors are less likely to partake in dangerous alcohol and marijuana use.

“Past research has demonstrated that prosocial behaviors such as comforting or assisting others has long-term benefits for young people,” said Gustavo Carlo, Millsap Professor of Diversity in MU’s College of Human Environmental Sciences. “For this study, we were interested in understanding how female student-athletes might be impacted by community service because they make up a growing number of the college population.”
Carlo and Alexandra Davis, former doctoral candidate from MU and current assistant professor of family and child studies at the University of New Mexico, led a research team that investigated Division III women student-athletes’ social and health behaviors over a five-year period. Participants in the study self-reported their helping behaviors such as willingness to volunteer as well as their individual alcohol and marijuana use. The researchers found that student athletes with a tendency to help others were less likely to abuse alcohol or use marijuana.

“Female student-athletes experience increased demands while in college from coaches and professors to family and friends,” Davis said. “Because student-athletes occupy multiple roles simultaneously, they could be at an increased risk substance abuse to cope with stress. Our findings suggest that community service might be a tool to reduce substance abuse among female student-athletes.”
Carlo and Davis believe these findings highlight the importance of community service and engagement and say that colleges, athletic departments and families should encourage all student-athletes to spend time providing a community service that they care about.

“For student-athletes, helping others is a win-win situation,” Davis said. “Community service not only reduces the risk of substance abuse, but also creates positive change in the community.”
“Bidirectional relations between different forms of prosocial behaviors and substance use among female college student athletes,” was published in the Journal of Social Psychology. Sam Hardy, associate professor at Brigham Young University; Janine Othuis, assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick; and Byron L. Zamboanga, professor at Smith College, were co-authors of the study.

Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-04-volunteering-substance-abuse-female-student-athletes.html#jCp

James H. Boyd Intermediate School students in Room 412 helped pack meals for orphans in Haiti and the hungry on Long Island on April 3 as part of the LuHi Meal Packing Event at the Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in Upper Brookville.
Every year the students in Room 412, as well as previous students travel to LuHi, accompanied by their parents, to help pack meals. This year, the students helped pack 22,824 meals for kids in Haiti, as well as the hungry on Long Island.
Long Island Lutheran adopted an orphanage in Haiti, whose residents they help provide with food. Most of the food, however, is distributed to organizations, which feed the hungry on Long Island.

Photo Caption:
James H. Boyd Intermediate School students volunteered by packaging food for orphans in Haiti and the hungry on Long Island.

Photos courtesy of the Elwood Union Free School District