Photo Caption: The Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Varsity Club raised more $120 selling coffee, hot chocolate and bracelets for the American Heart Association during the school’s evening parent-teacher conferences on March 2.
Photo courtesy of Copiague School District
Wantagh Middle School students collectively raised $7,000 for the American Heart Association’s annual Hoops for Heart event in the gymnasium. Rachael Brite was the top fundraiser having collected $1,000.
The fundraiser coincided with a basketball fitness unit with physical education teachers Eileen Keener, Thomas Ligouri and Gary Reh, and a knockout basketball game tournament. Dennis Milashouskas and Meghan Tucker demonstrated their athletic abilities on the court by taking the lead on the boys and girls teams.
Photo Caption:
Wantagh Middle School students and physical education staff are pictured during the annual Hoops for Heart fundraiser in which the school collectively raised $7,000.
Photos courtesy of the Wantagh School District
After a long fall semester, many Manhattan College students use winter break as an opportunity to travel, often to an exotic, tropical locale. That’s exactly what two members of the Jaspers’ women’s lacrosse team did over their winter break. Junior Maddie Regal spent a week in Jamaica, while sophomore Talia Price traveled to Ecuador. They weren’t there for a vacation, however. They were there to give back.
Regal and Price both participated in community service trips through the LOVE Program. Organized and run by Campus Ministry, LOVE stands for Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience. LOVE sponsors a number of service trips—both within the U.S. and abroad—throughout the school year. All of them have a common purpose—to help underprivileged people and areas.
“I had always heard about these trips, but had never really thought much of it,” Regal said. “Then I met some of the people that had gone the previous year, and it just sounded like such an amazing experience.
“I kind of stumbled upon it,” Price added. “And I’m really happy I did. I originally wanted to study abroad, but this was a much better way to experience that.”
Several Manhattan students and chaperones went on each trip, with each participant covering the remaining cost after fundraising. Regal and Price were the only student-athletes that took part.
Regal’s group volunteered with the Mustard Seed Organization, which runs several houses throughout Jamaica. They lived among the community, staying in a retreat house on the same complex with no cell phones and very little water. The volunteers worked primarily with residents suffering from cerebral palsy and autism, feeding them breakfast and dinner daily, while also visiting the other houses (which help, among others, pregnant teenagers and children with AIDS) throughout the week.
Price was originally planning on joining her teammate in Jamaica, but she wanted a more immersive experience, so she opted to go to Duran, Ecuador, about 20 miles outside of Guyaquil (Ecuador’s largest city), instead. Her group visited people throughout the community, listening to their stories, and worked with an after-school program. They also spent time at a hospital for people with Hansen’s Disease, which is more commonly known as leprosy.
Naturally, there was some initial culture shock, especially for Regal, who had never been out of the country before.
For Price, who had the additional barrier of not speaking Spanish (although some in her group did), it hit almost immediately. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “We landed in a pretty nice airport, then we just kept driving and saw the conditions, and I thought, ‘Wow! This is what we’re going to be living in for a week.’”
Although, any culture shock quickly wore off thanks to the warm reception they received from the residents they were there to help.
“My favorite part was everyone’s smiles,” Regal noted. “They were the happiest people with the most beautiful smiles. It just warmed your heart.”
“There was this one old man at the hospital who kept saying how happy he was to have Americans spend time with him and kept telling us how beautiful we were,” Price remembered.
Both agreed that it’s something they’d love to do again, although they’d each like to go somewhere else and get a different experience. The experience that they had is something they’ll never forget, however.
“It was definitely a learning experience being in a different environment and not really knowing what you’re getting yourself into,” Price said. “It was rewarding to come back to America. I definitely gained more of an appreciation for what we have.”
“The whole time, they said you’re going to be a lot more affected than anyone you help,” Regal said. “And that was definitely true. For me, it was both learning and rewarding.”
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Source: http://www.gojaspers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12500&ATCLID=211461642
Desert Vista High School’s lacrosse team does more than play games.
For the last nine years under the leadership of Head Coach Dan Lannon, team members have held a fall fundraiser that has raised more than $40,000 for various charitable activities.
Recently the team presented a $2,500 check to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, part of the proceeds raised at the ninth annual fundraiser called Lax4Life held in December at Tempe Sports Complex.
“Teams of all ages gather annually for fall ball scrimmages the first weekend in December to enjoy same good competition and also raise awareness and money for pediatric cancer,” Lannon said.
Some proceeds also went to the Ability 360 Wheelchair Lacrosse Team and to assistant Thunder lacrosse coach Mike Wein, who has been battling leukemia since he was 2 years old.
Brady Wein’s diagnosis in 2008 prompted Lannon, Wein and assistant coach Dan Bray to start raising money for pediatric cancer care and research.
“The lacrosse community came together to rally and support Mike and his wife Rachel as they began the battle with Brady to fight the cancer,” Lannon said. “Each year the Desert Vista Lacrosse Team rallied volunteers and supplies to pull off this great event.”
“In 2011, Jack Welch, son of Beth and Keith Welch, was also honored at the event as he had recently been diagnosed with leukemia,” Lannon added. “In 2014, Lax4Life also honored DV student Evan Johnson, who was battling bone cancer.”
The event has grown from an original 12 teams to 52 participating teams last year.
“The jamboree is able to raise money from team fees and largely due to the donation of the referee’s fees. The referees are all members of the Arizona Lacrosse Officials Association, which trains and assigns local officials to lacrosse games in Arizona,” Lannon explained.
“We have a great group of parents at Desert Vista that make up our Lax4Life planning committee and many of them stay on the committee long after their sons have graduated and left the team,” he said. “The players all perform community service hours during the day-long event, helping with set up, tear down and doing trash detail during the event.
“Lax4Life has become one the marqee events in the fall for lacrosse in AZ and everyone that participates in it looks forward to the day where there is good fun competition with the feeling of being able to make a positive impact in the community during the holiday season.”
Anyone who wants to help the team can contact dan.lannon@yahoo.com
Source: http://www.ahwatukee.com/community_focus/article_f69e650e-f93d-11e6-afa2-db97be8432a4.html
Flushing, N.Y. – The Queens College men’s basketball team adopted Josh Sanchez as part of the Adopt-A-Child Program through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation on Thursday. Josh, a 10-year-old who has battled cancer for most of his young life, spent the morning shooting hoops in Fitzgerald Gym with the team and staff along with his family.
“It went great,” said head coach Matt Collier. “Josh (and his brothers) interacted with the players before, during and after practice. I asked him if he wanted to be a part of the team after watching us practice, and he said yes! We are looking forward to him being part of the QC basketball family.”
Josh was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at age four. He bravely underwent chemotherapy for 3.5 years and is now thriving in remission. ALL is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell).
Josh’s favorite sport is basketball, and he is currently the manager for his school basketball team, the “Hot Shots” at P.S. 107 in Flushing. He also enjoys soccer, bike riding, skateboarding and playing Xbox. Josh was joined by parents Monica and George and has three siblings, Jacob, JD and Jayda.
Josh will be in attendance at the Knights’ next home game, as part of Coaches vs. Cancer, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, against ECC opponent Molloy at 7:30 p.m. He will sit on the team’s bench and will be introduced at the game.
For more information on the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, http://friendsofjaclyn.org
Provided by the Queens Sports Information Department.
