The Croton-Harmon High School boys and girls basketball teams are gearing up for the third annual Hoops for Heroes: Saluting Our Men and Women of the Armed Forces event, which will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28.
“Hoops for Heroes is a daylong event in which we host a tournament celebrating our military,” said CHHS senior Charlie Goldberg, a varsity boys basketball team captain. “Many veterans attend and it is truly a great day for our community.”
The basketball teams have grown the event exponentially over the years and will continue to support non-profit organizations that support veterans.

“The goal of the event is twofold; first, we look forward to recognizing those who have served and are serving in our military, and second, we are attempting to raise funds for the Barry Fixler Foundation and Hope For The Warriors,” said varsity boys basketball head coach Ben Martucci.
The day’s basketball games will be held in the CHHS main gymnasium and will include:
1 p.m. — Bronxville vs. Haldane (boys)
3 p.m. — Hendrick Hudson vs. Yorktown (boys)
5 p.m. — Croton-Harmon vs. Westlake (boys)
7 p.m. — Croton-Harmon vs. Palisades Prep (girls)

“This is an important event because we are raising awareness for an important cause and coming together as a community while doing so,” said Goldberg. “The guys on the team take some time to really learn about the military and the sacrifices our troops and veterans have made. It is truly an honor to be a part of such a big day for this community and all of those involved. Carrying on this tradition is something the basketball team takes pride in doing.”

Photo Caption: Croton-Harmon High School’s boys varsity basketball team.

Photo courtesy of the Croton-Harmon Schools

MacArthur High School and Salk Middle School students from sports teams, clubs and music organizations in the Levittown School District took to the mat on Jan. 18 during the second annual Sumo wrestling matches to benefit the John Theissen Children’s Foundation.
Under the direction of coach Michael Marrero, the participants donned immense Sumo wrestling gear to the delight of a packed crowd in the MacArthur High School gymnasium and wrestled their way to donations for sick and underprivileged children. The event coincided with the MacArthur High School wrestling team’s match against Manhassett.

“I am happy to see that so many people came out for a good cause,” Marrero said. “Our goal is to every year consistently benefit the John Theissen Children’s Foundation, making kids happy.”

Photo Captions:
Sumo wrestling match coach Michael Marrero is pictured with MacArthur High School students Jenna Stillman and Victoria Piscitelli.

Photos courtesy of the Levittown School District

Northport Middle School students had the unique opportunity to play and hear from motivational amputee basketball team AMP1 on Jan. 12 and 13. Throughout the two days, the team spoke to gym classes and played three basketball games against students on Jan. 13.

AMP1 is the only organized traveling team of amputees playing stand-up basketball in the country with a mission to motivate, educate and inspire others. The team consists of players from all across the country that have overcome lower limb amputations caused by various circumstances.

The team played a basketball game with students from each grade level. These included a game against the school’s sixth-graders and seventh- and eighth-grade boys’ basketball teams. Students cheered the teams on as they ran up and down the court in the school gymnasium. AMP1 made it a priority to hype the crowd up throughout the games.

AMP1 player and Long Island native, Robert Anthony Rodriguez gave the crowd high-fives and got students excited about each game.

“It feels amazing to be able to come out and inspire others,” he said. “The kids are loving it and we are really enjoying getting them hyped up.”

Photo Captions:

Sixth-graders from Northport Middle School played a fun game of basketball against the AMP1 basketball team on Jan. 13.

Photos courtesy of the Northport-East Northport School District

INDIANAPOLIS – Nearly 100 IUPUI student-athletes and staffers participated in a day filled with community service and campus engagement on Monday (Jan. 16) as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Caring.

The athletics department’s participation was in conjunction with a larger university wide initiative and was headed by Evan Fruits.

“It felt good to see our student-athletes and members of our staff giving back to the community,” Fruits said. “I think we made an enormous impact on our campus and all over the city through our participation.

“Honestly, I think our student-athletes enjoyed the opportunity to work together to accomplish a lot of different tasks. I think we’ll continue to grow our participation numbers and make an even larger impact in the years to come.”

The day began with an early morning orientation session before groups dispersed across campus and throughout the city for multiple projects, ranging from cleaning, building, organizing and repairing.

Community engagement has been a vital piece of Dr. Roderick Perry’s vision for the department as part of his Jags Give Back initiative. All 18 varsity sports have engaged in community service activities and the total number of volunteer hours from the department has increased in the past year.

Source: http://www.iupuijags.com/news/2017/1/18/general-nearly-100-student-athletes-give-back-in-campus-wide-event.aspx

Photo Caption: Hampton Bays Elementary school students boogied and grooved on Jan. 19 during an hourlong dance-a-thon sponsored by the school’s community service club, K-Kids. The dance-a-thon raised $800 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through pledges the students procured prior to the event.

Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District