During the 2017-18 academic year, Colonials teams won five championships, landed 84 student-athletes on Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams, posted a 3.23 GPA this Spring and performed nearly 10,000 hours of community service.

GW Athletics is defined by Determination, Commitment, and Respect. With those guiding principles as our True North, we will become even better ambassadors of discipline and excellence for the George Washington University, winning championships and preparing young adults for lives of distinction after their time in Foggy Bottom.

But we can’t do it alone. Our committed supporters of GW’s student-athletes understand the importance of being a team player and help us give our more than 500 student-athletes resources that will empower them to achieve their goals. Fall sports teams begin their seasons in just a few weeks, and a gift today will help us invest in championship-worthy training, academic support and career-readiness programs.

 

To learn more please visit: http://www.gwsports.com/genrel/072018aaa.html

East Islip Middle School’s Tri-M Honor Society’s main objective is community service. In the past, the Honor Society has adopted families during the holidays, collected hygiene products for women’s shelters, collected socks for the homeless, ran food drives and gift drives for children’s hospitals, and this year, with the help of the For the Kids organization, helped install a beautiful memorial garden in front of the school.

Tri-M members participate annually in the Long Island Cares-Harry Chapin Food Bank Practice-a-Thon, with all proceeds going to local food banks. This year, Tri-M raised a new high of $2,004.

“The Practice-a-Thon is a wonderful way to strengthen students’ practice habits while encouraging empathy and empowering them to make a difference in their community,” said adviser Concetta Stevens.

 

IMG-6878: East Islip Middle School’s Tri-M Honor Society raised a new high of $2,004 for the Long Island Cares-Harry Chapin Food Bank Practice-a-Thon.

 

Photo courtesy of the East Islip School District

Read More at: https://side-out.org/latest-blog/more-than-a-memory-randolph-high-school-2017-dig-pink/

 

As you walk into the gym of Randolph High School on the night of its annual Dig Pink festivities, you’ll notice there is a buzz around the event. It’s the talk of the town, a town of less than 500 people. But don’t let the small population fool you, this is a town with a big heart.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”
Randolph, Class of 2018 Motto

The Value Of A Moment

The moment the ball hits against the waxed hardwood… when the sea of pink in the stands rises… when the final amounts from the night are announced… the moment a smile of hope spreads across your neighbor’s face, that’s when everything becomes an unforgettable memory for those attending.

No one can put a value on these moments during Randolph High School’s 2017 Dig Pink event.

Sure, they raised over $18,000 for The Side-Out Foundation to support stage IV breast cancer research and Regan Nordling, a second-grader who needed a second heart transplant. However, this doesn’t show the true value of the moments shared through Dig Pink – how priceless these moments are to the town located 40 miles south of Minneapolis.

Randolph High School’s priceless moments began when the volleyball team hosted its first Dig Pink event in 2010. Kate Esser, a volleyball coach and English teacher, organized the event. Esser stopped coaching volleyball two years later, but could not let go of Dig Pink.

“I took a lot of pride in what we had built,” explained Esser.

Esser encouraged all her students to “take pride in what [they] do every day.” She pushed them to take pride in the fundraising they achieved through their Dig Pink events, providing stage IV breast cancer patients with treatment opportunities specifically tailored to their cancer in the hopes of prolonging their life.

The students, fueled by Esser’s positive energy, embraced the chance to make a difference. In a Minnesota town of less than 500 people, the students did not let their small numbers stop them from making a positive impact.

“I love seeing them take pride in something that is so important,” said Esser.

The importance of Randolph’s Dig Pink event stretched beyond breast cancer and volleyball and rebounded through their community.

Making The Moment Personal

Randolph’s Dig Pink event is rooted in the community. At their 2017 event they honored Kathy Bey, a volleyball mom and breast cancer survivor. They also played in memory of friends and family who fought breast cancer, specifically: Jenny Ralph, Esser’s in-law and a donator to Randolph Dig Pink, and grandmothers of volleyball players, Judi Bay and Linda Londor.

Beyond recognition, each Dig Pink event has the opportunity to donate 25% of its Dig Pink proceeds to a patient support services organization in their area. For Randolph High School this means there’s an opportunity to help a member of their community while contributing to the nationwide impact of Dig Pink.

“We have only sponsored two people at this point in our history but it takes the night to a whole new level when certain members of your community are involved,” said Esser.

In 2015, Jackie Hoey, a mom of a senior on the volleyball team was diagnosed with brain cancer. The community rallied behind Hoey and her family. Randolph raised money to support her treatment through their 2015 Dig Pink event. In fall of 2016, Hoey passed away and Dig Pink is now held in her memory.

In 2017, the senior class decided to sponsor a Randolph second-grader, Regan Nordling. Regan received a heart transplant when she was six months old and received a second one on June 30, 2018. During the 2017 Dig Pink event, signs with Regan’s brilliant smile and the words#ReganStrong filled the gym. Regan and family attended the 2017 event, cheering on their favorite volleyball team.

Making a moment personal brings an entirely different feeling to an event, especially when it is a national cause like Dig Pink. There is an unexplainable strength that comes from the support of an entire community. A strength with the power to ingrain a moment in your memory and make it priceless.

More Than A Memory

Randolph’s Dig Pink event is a memory tinted pink. Fundraising, led by the girls volleyball team and supported by parents, teachers, and community members, occurred throughout the night.

The 2017 event hosted a silent pink auction and bake sale. Local businesses and community members donated items for raffle drawings. The cheerleaders sold strawberry malts and the booster club sold pink cotton candy. One volleyball mom ran an informational stand about mammograms. A professional photo booth and DJ volunteered at the event. Community members even shaved their heads in honor of those fighting cancer.

Each year a unique Dig Pink event t-shirt is sold. During the event, all the previous t-shirts are displayed, reminders of all they have accomplished. With one eye on the past, Randolph pushes ever forward.

#RowTheBoat

Randolph’s dedication led to the success of their event, and in 2017, Sports Imports and Side-Out announced Randolph High School as Side-Out’s top fundraising school in the nation.

“Being that we come from such a small community this is not the norm for our students,” said Esser. “No one can take away the success they have built in this event.”

Randolph has made its Dig Pink event more than just a match, more than memories. They have made a legacy.

“The wheels are always turning in my head as I prepare for the following year,” said Esser. Everyone is involved in the planning for the next event, keeping it fun and engaging the community. In light of their last event, Randolph High School set a new goal for their Dig Pink events – $100,000 in 10 years.

With a goal set and 2 years to go one thing is certain – they will never forget those moments.

Students in kindergarten through sixth grade at Levy Lakeside School discussed their grade-level community service projects with the entire school during a special celebration of service learning held prior to the close of the school year.

Projects highlighted included kindergartners creating Welcome to Kindergarten books for next year’s incoming class, third-graders decorating inspirational tissue boxes for The Hewlett House and the fourth-grade Birthday in a Box initiative, in which children decorated and filled boxes with little items and presented them to local children in need on their birthdays. The Buddy Club, in which fifth- and sixth-graders volunteer their recess time to play with special-needs students, was also highlighted, as was the sixth-grade Sandwich-a-thon, which produced more than 3,000 sandwiches to feed the hungry. Collections of Play-Doh, used for occupational therapy, and Band-Aids were also undertaken for the benefit of Cohen Children’s Medical Center, as were collections gently used, environmentally friendly toys for SecondChanceToys.org.

During their presentations, students described the work they put in and gave heart-warming testimony about the joy they felt in helping others.

 

Photo Caption: Levy Lakeside faculty members  and administration congratulate students who presented on behalf of their respective classes and grades during the school’s celebration of service learning.

Photo courtesy of the Merrick School District

Students at Dutch Broadway Elementary School in Elmont donated an astounding $11,290 to Building Homes for Heroes on May 30, thanks to their yearlong recycling efforts and the school’s sixth annual Walk-a-Thon, which also benefited the organization.

This event, organized by physical education teachers Deb Bennett and Glenn Saenz and fifth-grade teacher Melissa O’Brien, is always a highlight to the school year. It begins with an outdoor assembly attended by students in grades 3-6. This year, the school was honored to have U.S. Army Specialist Hugo Gonzalez in attendance. Spc. Gonzalez was severely injured in combat in Iraq in 2004. Building Homes for Heroes gifted him a mortgage-free home in Florida in 2015. He spoke to the students about his struggles after being injured and how the organization has become family to him.

Also present were the members of the Elmont American Legion Post 1033, the Bellmore Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2770 and the Mineola American Legion Post 349, as well as several students’ parents who are in the reserves or who have served.

The ceremony also featured fifth- and sixth-grade band and chorus students playing and singing patriotic music, as well as a bagpipe performance by Ed Geraghty, of the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums. Retired U.S. Marine Bill “The Can Man” Urianek was also on hand to present the organization with a check for $2,000 – the proceeds of the students’ yearlong recycling efforts. Urianek visits the school each week to collect donated bottles, which he recycles, keeping the money in an account for the school. For the past two years, Dutch Broadway has coordinated its recycling efforts with the faculty and students from Meadow School in Baldwin. J.P Iacona, who was a sixth-grade student in Elmont eight years ago, began the recycling program. He spoke to the student body and was given a plaque recognizing his dedication to our veterans.

Following the ceremony, students took to the field to begin the Walk-a-Thon, while veterans enjoyed refreshments with administrators and faculty.

 

Photo Captions:

1. Dutch Broadway School administrators and teachers are pictured with local veterans and Building Homes for Heroes representatives.
2. Dutch Broadway School teacher Melissa O’Brien is pictured with students Chase Ridley and Paris Purcell.
3. Dutch Broadway School physical education teacher Deb Bennett and teacher Melissa O’Brien are pictured with Elmont Post 1033 members.
4. U.S. Army Specialist Hugo Gonzalez (fourth, right) is pictured with local veterans from Elmont.

 

Photos courtesy of the Elmont School District