Amherst, N.Y. – On Tuesday, January 17, student-athletes from the Daemen College men’s and women’s basketball teams became the first from the College to participate in “Reading Wildcats”, a community outreach initiative in which Daemen student-athletes travel to local elementary schools where they read and interact with students in an educational setting. Last week’s session was conducted with second and third-grade students at the Charter School for Applied Technologies (CSAT) in the City of Buffalo.

Team members read books with the children and answered their questions about what it takes to become a collegiate student-athlete. The interaction between college student-athletes and elementary school children is mutually beneficial, according to Daemen basketball coaches Mike MacDonald and Jenepher Banker.

“We feel it is really important for our student-athletes to get out in the community,” said MacDonald who is currently in his third season leading the Daemen men’s basketball program, and his 20th as a collegiate head coach overall. “It’s beneficial for the young students because our players are role models that they can look up to. It wasn’t too long ago that our players were in their shoes, dreaming of playing college basketball. They have achieved a dream, and it’s good for today’s youths to see that. It’s great for our guys to see the impact they can have on young people’s lives, and hopefully it will encourage them to continue to excel in their studies here because there are a lot of little eyes watching them.”

Banker, who is in her first season leading the Daemen women’s basketball program after a long career as an educator herself, echoed the same sentiments, saying, “The ‘Reading Wildcats’ program is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to connect with the community. Having our players read to and answer questions for the classes allowed the children to learn that if they work hard, they too can accomplish their goals. It certainly gave our student-athletes a sense of just how much impact they can have on this world.”

School officials at CSAT were happy that their students were provided this opportunity, according to assistant principal Sue Jurewicz.

“CSAT strives to instill the importance of college and career readiness to our students every day,” Jurewicz said. “Having an opportunity for them to listen and speak with athletes about hard work, determination, and the importance of academics is invaluable to CSAT and its core values.”

The “Reading Wildcats” program is an ongoing initiative of Daemen Athletics. For more information about the program and how to schedule Daemen student-athletes to a visit a school near you, please contact Mame Yaa Ankoma-Mensa, student-athletes success and community engagement coordinator at mankomam@daemen.edu.

Provided by the Daemen Sports Information Department.

On Feb. 8, students at Searingtown School jumped rope for a good cause by participating in Jump Rope for Heart. The students raised more than $12,500 for the American Heart Association, which funds research, programs and education to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation’s #1 and #4 killers.

“I’m so pleased with the success of this year’s event,” said Diane Pasatieri, Jump Rope for Heart coordinator. “We had a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed learning about the importance of physical activity and how they can play a role in saving lives.”

Photo courtesy of Herricks Public Schools

On Tuesday, the LIU Post women’s lacrosse team took the time out of its busy season to play basketball with the ACDS Thunderbolts, a Special Olympics team based in Plainview.

The Pioneer student-athletes participated in drills and a scrimmage, in an effort to help celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

“Working with the ACDS Thunderbolts was a very rewarding experience,” said freshman midfielder Sara Stephens (Farmingdale, N.Y.). “Having my teammates there to support my brother was so much fun. We can’t wait to go back.”

Originally founded in 1966, the Association for Children with Down Syndrome (ACDS) serves families of individuals with a wide range of disabilities, from before birth until late adulthood.

For more information on ACDS, please visit their official website at: http://www.acds.org/index.html

Through their collaborative efforts, the entire fourth grade at Bowling Green Elementary School in the East Meadow School District held a book drive that yielded more than 300 books for pediatric patients at Nassau University Medical Center.
Before the collection began, the students created flyers, delivered morning announcements and visited classrooms explaining the purpose of the drive, which was to collect gently used or new books for children at NUMC and their families.
Linda Walsh, the NUMC executive director for the NuHealth Foundation, visited the school on Feb. 17 to accept the numerous boxes of donations and thank the fourth-graders for improving the lives of patients with the gift of a good book.

Photo Caption: (Back row, from left) Bowling Green Elementary School Principal Maria Ciarametaro, fourth-grade teacher Carly Schardavoyne, Assistant Principal Amelia Garcia, and Linda Walsh, Nassau University Medical Center executive director for the NuHealth Foundation, commended fourth-graders (front row, from left) Lia Addeo, Joanna Del Veccio, Gina McCardell, Ava Giammitelli, Aleeza Sheikh, Daniel Greff and Elijah Richard for collecting more than 300 books for patients at NUMC.

Photo courtesy of the East Meadow School District

In addition to academics, students at St. John’s Christian Academy in Moncks Corner are engaged in several initiatives to give back both locally and across the globe.
Community service is engrained into classroom and extracurricular activities at the school, says Dr. Eric Denton, headmaster at the school, which serves students grades K-12. Students can build valuable skills by orchestrating and participating in the events, which adds a sense of purpose into their lives as well.

The Senior and Junior Beta Clubs require high academic achievement, strong character and community service. “Our student government, athletic teams, Bible classes and Fellowship of Christian Athletes all encourage community service as well,” Denton says. Some projects are annual initiatives and others are one-time events they undertake as needs arise.

Here are five amazing projects that St. John’s students have been involved with during this school year:

1. Stepping Up:
Soles for Souls is a new project for the school this year. Students collect shoes for children in Haiti and Honduras and pass the shoes off to local mission teams, who deliver them to those in need.

2. Celebrating the Reason for the Season:
For the holidays, St. John’s students packed shoe boxes with Christmas gifts that were sent to impoverished countries as part of Operation Christmas Child.

3. Moving Forward:
Students from the school participated in the Lowcountry Pregnancy Center’s Walk for Life, which supported the center in helping mothers through their pregnancies.

4. Spreading Cheer:
Last Christmas season, members of the senior Beta Club visited residents at the Lake Moultrie Nursing Home. These high school students gave up a Saturday to visit and play games with residents.

5. Pitching In:
In an effort to replenish inventory at local food banks, the students collected food for local church-operated food pantries.

Some of the most impactful good deeds don’t support groups, but make a huge difference in the lives of individuals, Denton says. Members of the school’s varsity football team took a second grader with cerebral palsy under their wings. Their efforts were not coordinated on a grand scale, but still made life brighter for another person. At a pep rally before a playoff game, the players presented the boy with a football. Another player presented him with Christmas presents at school. And a few of the players visit with him during lunch almost every day.

“They encourage him and serve as role models for him and for the rest of the student body,” Denton says.

“The Bible consistently teaches us to love God and love people,” Denton adds. “By serving our community, we look beyond our own needs to those of others, and that adds greater purpose to our lives.”

Parents looking for a K3-12 school that teaches the value of service should consider St. John’s Christian Academy, located in Moncks Corner. To find out more, visit SJCacavaliers.com or call 843-761-8539.

Source: http://sponsored.ourgazette.com/st-johns-christian-academy/5-ways-local-students-are-giving-back-this-year/