Teams from Valley Stream South and Oceanside high schools joined the Lynbrook High School soccer teams on Oct. 1 for Lynbrook Soccer Day.
Varsity and junior varsity teams faced off in three games at the Santo J. Barbarino Athletic Complex at Marion Street School to show their love of soccer while raising cancer awareness.
The day began with the Lynbrook JV boys battling Valley Stream South, with Lynbrook winning 2-0. Next the Lynbrook JV girls faced off against Oceanside. After a key player suffered an early injury, Lynbrook fell 4-0. Oceanside had to pull out from the girls varsity game, so the Lynbrook girls supported the event by serving as announcers for the boys varsity game. The final match of the day pitted the Lynbrook boys varsity squad against Valley Stream South under the lights, with the Owls winning 2-1.
A portion of the funds raised will be used to support the efforts of the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Fly a Kite Foundation. The Fly-A-Kite Foundation was formed to honor the memory of Lynbrook resident Zachary Bernstein who died at the age of 11 from a form of pediatric brain cancer. Anyone who would like to make a contribution to Soccer Day can email lhssoccer@lynbrook.k12.ny.us.

Photo Captions:

The Lynbrook girls varsity soccer team did their part to raise cancer awareness.

Photos courtesy of Lynbrook Union Free School District

For the sixth-consecutive year, the St. John’s men’s and women’s basketball programs hosted Dribble for the Cure on Saturday morning, raising a record-breaking amount with more than $105,000 generated for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.

The event has now raised more than $500,000 at St. John’s since 2011 and more than $1,000,000 all-time between affairs at St. John’s and UCLA.

Dribble for the Cure primarily funds the research of Dr. Mitchell Cairo, whose work has helped raise survival rates in certain types of childhood cancers from just over 20 percent to more than 60 percent.

The event began with a street fair in Carnesecca Plaza around 11 a.m., as the St. John’s men’s and women’s basketball teams interacted with fans in a carnival-type atmosphere.

“It’s a really special event,” said sophomore Yankuba Sima. “We like to help the kids and we know they look up to us. It’s always good to have fun with them and see the smiles on their faces.”

Just after 11:30 a.m., Jeri Wilson, the executive director of the PCRF, addressed the crowd to thank them for their continued support of such a worthy cause.

“I’ve watched this event grow so it’s really cool to watch an event from California come out here to New York and be able to pass on the love and generosity that you guys have for the research we’ve supported for over 35 years,” said Wilson.

After Wilson spoke, Dr. Cairo stepped to the microphone to give an update on how his research, funded by the support of events like Dribble for the Cure, has helped save the lives of hundreds of children affected by pediatric cancer.

“Our program is focused on two really different areas: how do we cure the patient’s who are not responding well to traditional therapy and how do we develop therapies that are going to be more gentle and kinder to the patients and their families so they could continue to live better and longer lives,” said Dr. Cairo. “We’ve made huge progress in that today. I can tell you in the six years that St. John’s has supported this event, we’ve probably increased the cure rate in children who didn’t respond to their initial treatment with maybe a 20 percent survival chance to well over 60 percent now surviving from the research that’s been generated with the funds from this event.”

The final speaker before the dribbling tour of campus was Head Coach Chris Mullin, who spoke to the crowd about how his St. John’s education taught him that service to others should always be a primary focus in life. In doing so, Mullin recognized two St. John’s legends in attendance for the event, Athletics Director Emeritus John W. Kaiser and Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca.

“Two of my biggest influences in life, Mr. Kaiser and Coach Carnesecca, are here and the biggest thing I was taught on and off the court was to give back,” said Mullin. “Off the court, that’s what St. John’s is all about: taking care of your brother. On the court, I tell my guys I was taught by Coach Carnesecca that a good player can do for himself but a great player does for other people. And that’s what we’re all here to do today.”

Story courtesy of St. John’s University Athletics

As part of a schoolwide effort to spread awareness about children’s cancer, Woods Road Elementary School in the North Babylon School District raised more than $800 during the Go4TheGoal Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer event.
Students and staff members were encouraged to purchase gold-colored shoelaces, the proceeds of which went to Go4TheGoal. Wearing their shoelaces, the students first participated in yoga-inspired activities promoting mindfulness, and then in physical activities including jogging and stretching. The event not only promoted healthy and active lifestyles, but also taught students about the importance of altruism and raising awareness about pediatric cancer.

Photo Caption: Woods Road Elementary School students and staff members participated Woods Road’s Go4TheGoal Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer event.

Photos courtesy of North Babylon School District

Thanks to the help of a former teacher, Smithtown Central School District recently donated gently used soccer uniforms and soccer balls to the Hope Children’s Home in Kenya.
Larry Hohler, who taught social studies in the Smithtown Central School District from 1966 to 1999, delivered the donations to the orphanage to which he has a special connection. While teaching in Smithtown, Hohler received a sabbatical to travel and teach in East Africa. He stayed in touch with one of his former students, Joseph Kirima, who now serves as director of Hope Children’s Home.
When the AIDs pandemic hit in the 1990s, many children lost their parents and were forced to live on the streets. Hohler and Kirima helped fundraise in the U.S. and Africa and opened the Hope Children’s Home in 2005. Since then, 90 children have been provided with housing and other goods thanks to generous donors such as Smithtown Central School District.

Photo Caption: Smithtown Central School District recently donated gently used soccer uniforms and soccer balls to a Hope Children’s Home in Kenya.

Photo courtesy of Smithtown Central School District

Honoring the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, Justin DeMaio’s class at West Islip’s Bayview Elementary School participated this year in Operation Goodie Bag for the 9/11 Good Deed Challenge.
Students decorated paper bags, filled them with candy, and wrote either a note of gratitude or a poem about heroes, which were placed inside as well. The completed goodie bags were then delivered to local police precincts, the New York Police Department, and military servicemen who are currently enlisted or have served in the past.
“Our class wanted to recognize everyday heroes who are willing to sacrifice their time to save and protect others in honor of the fallen heroes from September 11th,” said DeMaio.

141103, 141109: Bayview Elementary School students honored the 15th anniversary of 9/11 by creating goodie bags for local heroes.

Photos courtesy of the West Islip School District