The spirit of Christmas is alive and well and is being exhibited by the Women’s bowling team. Following the conclusion of the EIBC regular season which saw the Lions finish in second place, the team relished the opportunity to share their good fortune with others and set out a plan to participate in a few service projects before breaking for the semester.

Along with the Women’s Rugby team under the direction of Coach Melissa Olman, the team learned some value life lessons as they participated in the “Beautiful Me” seminar. “Beautiful Me” is a self-esteem program designed to educate females by promoting appreciation for their genuine qualities, accurate self-awareness, and the satisfaction of helping others. Coach Lella stated “the team really enjoyed the experience and had an opportunity to bond”.

Following “Beautiful Me” the team banded together to provide Christmas gifts for local community members in need through the Sponsor-A-Family program. In total 285 local residents had their holidays made brighter by the generosity of Molloy College staff and students. The event is coordinated through the Our Lady of Loretto Outreach Center in Hempstead, NY. This is not the first time that our bowlers have reached out to the Hempstead community. Earlier in the season Marisa Clinton (Staten Island, N.Y.), Alyssa Doto (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Carly Licht (Bethpage, N.Y.) visited a Read-A-Loud day at the Hempstead Kindergarten Center.

The Lions then capped off their outreach by visiting the Mercy Medical Center Pediatric Center in Rockville Centre, NY to deliver toys and good cheer to the children receiving treatment during the holidays.

From the rhythmic pounding of the basketball against a hardwood floor to the squeaking sound of sneakers pivoting against the court, the sounds of a basketball game often escape the attention of the average person.

But for children who are visually impaired, those sounds carry much more importance.

The FIU men’s basketball team hosted 21 children from Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, a local rehabilitation organization serving the blind, to engage them in the basketball experience prior to their team practice at FIU Arena Jan. 5.

Brad Matthews, the director of ticket sales for FIU Athletics, helped coordinate the field trip. His 5-year-old son, Jeremy, was born visually impaired and became completely blind in both eyes about a year ago and has been involved with the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind from an early age.

“There’s a reason why we are near the top in the country in community service and involvement. As soon as I reached out to the team, they were in,” Matthews said. “It’s great to see these kids do something hands on, and they don’t miss a beat.”

The student-athletes interacted with Jeremy and his classmates, ranging from ages 5 to 12, in a series of shooting, passing and dribbling activities to help them engage in the feels and sounds of the game of basketball. Many of the basketballs they used had sensors or bells inside that helped the children track them.

Some of the taller players on the team even helped the students experience the thrill of dunking a basketball.

“Events like this help teach them that there are so many things they can do,” said Krizia Perez, manager of the children’s programs at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. “We want to make sure they know that they can play basketball like any other child.”

The trip was also an opportunity to teach the students more about FIU and what college is all about.

“Some of them were saying that they could be here one day and they were excited to learn more about FIU,” Perez said. “It’s great to hear them talk about their dreams and their futures.”

And the student-athletes had just as much fun as kids did.

“It’s a joy to my heart being able to give back and meet with these kids,” said Eric Lockett, a sophomore guard. “They are overcoming the challenges they face everyday, so I look up to them.”

Source: https://news.fiu.edu/2017/01/student-athletes-help-blind-children-experience-basketball/107569

East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School students hosted a Breakfast with Santa, which included arts and crafts and holiday music for the children of the community.
The fundraising event benefited the family of East Rockaway custodian Alex Loveras, who recently experienced a fire in their home. In addition to the breakfast, the physical education department sponsored a dodgeball tournament to benefit the family. Raffle prizes were donated by many members of the community and coordinated by the PTA.
The little village of East Rockaway with its big heart showed again the power of love and hope. In all, $1,700 was raised to make the holiday season a little brighter for the Loveras family.

Photo Captions:
East Rockaway custodian Alex Loveras (back row, center) and his family are pictured with teacher Donald Poland, student helpers and local children who attended the Breakfast with Santa.

Photos courtesy of the East Rockaway School District

HAMDEN, Conn. – Sophomore Natalia Prukalski (Danbury, Conn.) of the Southern Connecticut State University field hockey team was a regular volunteer at the Church Street School in Hamden during the fall semester while assisting with the Hamden Early Learning program.

This event is just one example of many community outreach events that SCSU student-athletes take part in on an annual basis. SCSU student-athletes volunteered more than 2,000 hours of their time to numerous outreach efforts, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven, during the 2015-16 academic year.

Source: http://www.southernctowls.com/news/2016/12/26/field-hockey-prukalski-volunteers-at-church-street-schools-early-learning-program.aspx

The department of physical education and athletics at Spencerport Central Schools recently announced that each of its fall varsity athletic teams participated in a volunteer community service or charity project during the 2016 season.

The student-athletes volunteered in the community as part of the Spencerport Student-Athletes Care Program.

Boys soccer assisted the Spencerport Sports Booster Club with Food Truck Rodeo set-up and clean-up. Girls soccer conducted a free youth Ranger Girls Soccer Skills Academy on Saturdays throughout the fall.

Girls swimming participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and hosted the Pink in the Pool invitational, raising nearly $3,100 for breast cancer research.

Boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball and girls golf distributed items at the Mobile Food Pantry at Cosgrove Middle School in association with Foodlink.

Girls tennis provided support at the Angels of Mercy Race.

Football and fall cheerleading participated in Moving Day for the National Parkinson’s Foundation in honor of longtime volunteer Robert “Pops” Dennis.

Boys volleyball conducted a free youth volleyball clinic and held a food drive to benefit the Spencerport Food Shelf.

Source: http://www.gateschilipost.com/news/20170103/spencerport-student-athletes-help-community