More than 500 area students now have the backpacks and school supplies they need to be successful in school, thanks to Westhampton Beach High School junior Arianna DeMattei.

Just prior to the start of the 2016-17 school year, DeMattei distributed the backpacks and school supplies to students in need in the Westhampton Beach, Quogue and Center Moriches school districts.

The backpacks and supplies were donated by DeMattei’s five-year-old fundraising project, Backpacks for Fellow Students. The effort began as a bat mitzvah project, but has since expanded. Since its inception, BFFS has provided more than 1,000 backpacks to local students.

Photo Caption: Westhampton Beach High School junior Arianna DeMattei assisted Westhampton Beach Elementary School students with selecting backpacks on Aug. 31.

Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Beach School District

WASHINGTON, DC – The University of the District of Columbia men’s and women’s tennis teams spent three hours on Friday morning, September 2nd, preparing and packing nutritious meals for people in the Washington, DC area living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses.

“Our time with Food & Friends was a great team-building exercise, and it was a rewarding experience to help out in the community,” head coach Dickie Mahaffey said. “It was a nice change of pace from practice and the weight room.”

Mahaffey’s men’s and women’s tennis squads have partnered with Food & Friends a few times each of the last couple of years, and he says the relationship continues to get stronger.

Food & Friends’ staff of professional chefs and community dietitians design meals that meet the special dietary needs of persons living with a broad range of illnesses. At a rate of six-days-a-week, 52-weeks-a-year, Food & Friends feeds their clients, delivering each day, Monday-Saturday, including holidays. Since its inception, it has provided more than 18 million meals to more than 26,000 individuals.

While looking forward to another exciting year this coming fall, the student council at East Islip’s John F. Kennedy Elementary School reflected on their busy last school year of charitable and community-centered activities.

The council began last September with a renewed commitment to the Ronald McDonald House, collecting the tabs from aluminum cans, which were then delivered to a collection site to support the family-oriented activities provided by the charity. In October, the entire student body took home bright orange UNICEF boxes to gather $1,008.68 in donations while they were out celebrating Halloween, managing.

In December, the council teamed up with East Islip High School’s Math Honor Society and the U.S. Marine Corps for a Toys for Tots toy drive, collecting 87 new toys that were delivered to Long Island children. For the popular February project Pick a Pop!, student council members willingly gave up their recess to work at lunch periods, earning $500 for the school’s fifth-grade moving up committee. Last spring, the council students tackled school spirit, soliciting themed outfit ideas from their classmates for Spirit Fun Fridays.
“We can’t thank all the students, parents and extended family members enough for being so supportive of all our endeavors,” said Principal Aileen O’Rourke.

JFKSC: Members of John F. Kennedy Elementary School’s student council reflected on a year of charitable and community-centered activities.

Photo courtesy of the East Islip School District

Islip’s Commack Road Elementary School was the recent beneficiary of school supplies for the 2016-2017 school year donated by SportsPro Camps.
During their summer sessions, SportsPro’s campers were asked “pay it forward,” collecting school supplies for children in need. Principal Brian McCarthy accepted the donated supplies from SportsPro Director Janet Mackay, camp manager Keri Cestaro and their team.

SportsPro Camps, located at Suffolk Community College’s Grant Campus in Hauppauge, provides children ages 3-15a place where they are can be safe, physically active, develop friendships and create summer memories.
“I was delighted that SportsPro promoted a pay-it-forward opportunity for campers to donate school supplies,” said McCarthy. “This was a great project for youngsters to learn about helping others. I was equally delighted to accept the donation of school supplies on behalf of the students of our school. The generosity of the counselors and campers affords children at Commack Road the chance to start the school year on a positive note.”

IMG_6385: SportsPro Camps manager Keri Cestaro, Commack Road Elementary School Principal Brian McCarthy and SportsPro Camps director Janet Mackay and the SportsPro team celebrated the donation of school supplies.

Photo courtesy of the Islip School District

On Saturday, Aug. 13, the Long Beach varsity girls soccer team held a fundraiser in support of senior and team captain Valaria Catrambone, who is being treated for cancer. Members of the community and district, along with other guests, gathered at Long Beach Middle School to participate in a successful and enjoyable event. Close to $15,000 were raised in donations for Valaria, with proceeds still coming in.

This effort was organized by varsity head coach Tara Gubelli and parents Mary Conway and Janine Posada. Approximately 30 members of the varsity and junior varsity girls soccer teams, joined by coaches Rachel Ray and Larry Lopez, volunteered to run the registration booth and sell raffle tickets, t-shirts, bracelets and food.

As a highlight to the day, the Albertson Soccer Club’s Albertson Fury team and coaches ran a soccer youth clinic for children of all ages, with stations that featured soccer tennis, a penalty shot contest, juggling and other fun athletic challenges. Another exciting occurrence was a surprise visit from members of the New York Flash professional women’s soccer team, who signed autographs and spent time with the younger athletes.

The Long Beach Football Club was a co-sponsor of the event and State Senator Todd Kaminsky presented $3,000 on behalf of the Long Beach High School Class of 1996. Special thanks goes out to the many local businesses that donated raffle items and and all those who came out to be part of this meaningful and action-packed day.

Photo Captions:

1: The Long Beach High School varsity girls soccer team held a fundraiser to support Valaria Catrambone on August 13.

Photos Courtesy of Long Beach Public Schools