Promoting Social Responsibility & Community Giveback through Athletics
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — The NYIT and Roberts Wesleyan women’s lacrosse teams jointly posed for a pregame photo wearing T-shirts to recognize Autism Awareness Day.
On Friday April 6th, they played their game to help recognize autism awareness💙 #hope #acceptance #awareness
This summer, two leaders of West Islip High School’s Thirst Project – current senior and club president Ian Nilsen and 2017 graduate and former president Lena Seltzer – will travel to South Africa and Swaziland as guests of Thirst Project to help build and document wells, celebrating with the communities who will now have access to clean water, thanks to the West Islip community. This trip is a gift from Thirst Project as a thank you for the students’ continued hard work on behalf of the organization.
West Islip Thirst Project was started in March 2012, after teacher and club adviser Paola Nilsen noticed a tweet about the world’s largest youth water activism organization by actress and activist Pauley Perrette.
“Once I read about it, I sent an email to the founder and CEO, Seth Maxwell, inquiring about the percentage of donations that go directly to drill a water project in a developing nation,” said Paola Nilsen. “When Mr. Maxwell replied that 100 percent of student donations go to building fresh water projects for those 663 million people worldwide who lack access to clean water, I brought the charity to my International Baccalaureate Italian class at West Islip High School.”
Since the club’s inception, it has raised more than $116,400 for sustainable water projects in India, El Salvador, Swaziland and Uganda, proving safe, clean drinking water to more than 4,500 people. It is estimated that approximately 663 million people worldwide lack safe water sources.
Over the six years that the club has been running in West Islip, both Paola Nilsen and her students have been recognized at Thirst Project’s annual gala in Beverly Hills, California. In 2013, Paola Nilsen was presented the Volunteer of the Year award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. In 2016, seniors Taylor Sorice and Alicia Villafana won the Power of Youth award at the gala; the two students were also awarded a free 2017 trip to Africa to see some of the communities they had helped.
Currently, West Islip’s chapter of Thirst Project has more than 125 active members, who raise money and awareness about the global water crisis through sporting events, local restaurant events, Paint Night fundraisers, recycling bottles and cans from the high school, yard sales, community donations, and even designing and selling custom merchandise. Each fall, the group also organizes a paper goods drive for Our Lady of Lourdes community pantry.
“We are very active on social media platforms, trying to educate those who don’t know about the global water crisis,” said Paola Nilsen. “It is a life-threatening problem that these students are convinced they can eradicate in their lifetime.”
In January, West Islip Thirst Project hosted its fourth annual teachers vs. students volleyball tournament to raise awareness and funds for their second sustainable water well of the school year.
“This yearly tournament is one of the highlights of the school year, pitting faculty and staff against student teams,” said West Islip High School Assistant Principal Craig Gielarowski. “Though the teachers always prove to be valiant opponents, they have yet to win a tournament title. We appreciate their willingness to play in support of our club.”
Ian Nilsen and fellow member Cayla Romano had set a donations goal of $30,000 at the beginning of September, one which they had already surpassed by February. Their revised goal is $37,000. On May 31, the group will host its second annual Thirst Gala at Bergen Point Country Club in West Babylon, and on June 21, it will host its first charity golf outing at the Bergen Point Golf Club.
“Much of our success this year is a result of generous donations to our online platform, through which members have given up their birthdays for donations for clean water projects,” said West Islip Thirst Project club adviser Paola Nilsen. “These dedicated students have learned that mortality rates drop within days of having access to clean water. Children and women who were forced to walk an average of 3.75 miles for contaminated water, now have time to go to school or to work. Communities that are suffering with cholera, dysentery, malaria, diarrhea and parasites can see a dramatic drop in those diseases within days of having access to clean water.”
Nilsen is confident the community will continue its backing of the students’ initiative.
“Our West Islip community has been so generous, attending our events and supporting our student members for the past six years, and we are hopeful that they can help us meet the new goal,” she said.
Photo Captions:
IMG_4413: West Islip Thirst Project student members Amber Zaccaria, Ian Nilsen and Cayla Romano brought donations to Trish Frodell of Our Lady of Lourdes community pantry.
IMG_4414: West Islip Thirst Project student members and siblings Grace and Lawrence Shaefer helped recycle around the high school to raise donations for water projects.
IMG_4415: West Islip Thirst Project hosted its fourth annual teachers vs. students volleyball tournament to raise awareness and funds for their second sustainable water well of the school year.
Photos courtesy of the West Islip School District
West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference and the conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) have declared that the week of April 9-15 will be a Mental Health Awareness Week throughout the league.
The idea for the week highlighting mental health of student-athletes came out of discussions held at the NCAA SAAC Super Regional Convention in Washington, D.C. this past November. After the convention, members of the ECC SAAC wanted to bring awareness and helped spur the idea of a week full of ECC games and events dedicated to the cause.
All week long, ECC student-athletes will be seen wearing lime green t-shirts (the national color associated with mental health awareness) with the phrase “Stop the Stigma” and the hashtag, #itsokay. Both phrases allude to the fact that mental health concerns are nothing to be ashamed of and that it’s okay to ask for help.
Some ECC members have also set up events throughout the week such as partnering with counseling centers to set up tables at games, bringing in guest speakers to speak to student-athletes, and campaigns at games such as having teams and spectators write out positive compliments about themselves.
“I am so pleased to see how the athletic programs and student-athletes at all ten of our ECC member institutions have focused on the importance of mental health for all college students,” said ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff. “All of college athletics’ stakeholders – team members, coaches, administrators, faculty and family members – play a critical role in creating an environment that supports the mental health and well-being of college athletes. They must play a part in supporting these young men and women’s health and mental health is a significant part of the student-athlete’s well being.”
ECC member schools and teams will be promoting their activities all week on their respective social media accounts. Search the hashtag, #itsokay, to find posts about the ECC’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
To learn more please visit: http://www.eccsports.org/information/general-news/2017-18/040918_mentalhealthawarenessweek
By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor
DIII Week kicked off this past Monday with the goal of highlighting the impact student-athletes have on and off the field.
The week long event encourages every Division III school to conduct outreach activities that relate to academic accomplishment, athletic experience or leadership/community service/campus involvement.
“It’s definitely a positive opportunity for all athletes associated with Division III to observe and recognize what each other has accomplished on campus and in the surrounding community.” said junior football player Joe Yurik.
DIII week is part of Division III’s “Identity Initiative” which was created back in 2010. The idea was to gain an understanding and effectively explain why schools and conferences prefer to compete at the DIII level.
The initiative has described Division III as “A place where student-athletes can follow your passions and develop your potential within an approach that combines rigorous academics, competitive sports and an opportunity to pursue other interests.”
“It speaks directly to what OWU is all about,” said junior football player Colten Harvey, “competing in a sport as well as pursuing a liberal arts education is exactly why DIII has so much more to offer.”
The North Coast Athletic Association (NCAA) also partnered to promote Mental Health Awareness as an initiative that ties in with DIII Week. Information was given about resources and counseling services here on campus.
Activities to celebrate DIII Week have been planned and put together through the Ohio Wesleyan Athletic Committee (OWAC). OWAC is comprised of OWU student-athletes, and led by the women’s assistant field hockey coach Lauren Thomas.
“It gives us an opportunity to formally recognize and honor our athletes for everything they do both on the field and academically and in the community,” said OWU athletic director Doug Zipp.
At a student tailgate and cookout held for student-athletes of OWU, athletes were given emblems that asked the question, why DIII? Individuals filled them out and hung them all over Hamilton-Williams.
Students will be tabling all week to raise money for Life Bank which is happening conference wide in the form of a change war.
2018 Division III Week runs from April 2 through April. 8, 2018.
In order to inform more middle school students about volunteering opportunities, Oldfield Middle School in the Harborfields Central School District held their first-ever “Volunteer Fair” on March 28. The National Junior Honor Society, which is known for being involved with volunteering in the local community, partnered with OMS’s Character Education committee to make this fair available to all Oldfield Middle School students.
Participating students researched different local organizations that accepted young volunteers. After choosing a specific cause, students created informational boards to present to their peers at the fair. These National Junior Honor Society students, along with sixth-grade volunteers, acted as ambassadors for their chosen organizations, which included Birthday Wishes, a company that looks to spread joy to homeless children through birthday presents; the League of Yes, a baseball program that brings joy to those with disabilities; Happy Tails, a no-kill animal shelter, and many more.
“I was inspired by how much some of these programs really do for the community,” said Becca, an eighth-grader at Oldfield Middle School.
Throughout the day, every social studies class attended the fair and learned about the local organizations looking for volunteers. Each student took note of the three they’d most like to volunteer for.
“Most kids don’t know how many opportunities there are to volunteer in the local community,” said social studies teacher and event facilitator Jennifer Klein. “And we’re trying to teach them that even at a young age it’s important to do your part–to give back.”
Photo Captions:
Photos courtesy of the Harborfields Central School District
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