East Islip Middle School’s Builders Club members Rebecca Belz, Deirdre Carney, Gianna Fabio, Sara Manweiler, Giavanna Perrone, Brooke Rizzuto, Matt Shields, Caitlyn Surace and Maggie Ulrich recently volunteered their time to the local Kiwanis Club in preparation for the organization’s 30th annual gala.

The students were accompanied to the event by club adviser Joe Ancona. The event marked 30 years since the Kiwanis Club of the Islips and Bay Shore was established.

IMG_0272: Nine members of the East Islip Middle School Builders Club volunteered their time for the 30th anniversary gala of the Kiwanis Club of the Islips and Bay Shore.

Photo courtesy of the East Islip School District

Every dollar donated can provide meals for 11 people through Feeding America, and students and staff at Newbridge Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District have been doing their part to help the hungry.
During a recent spirit assembly, Principal Denise Fisher reviewed the character trait of the month for April — caring — and read students “Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen” which is about a boy who helps the less fortunate. From April 18-21, children were asked to bring in a quarter a day for a total of $1 for the week to donate to Feeding America. They raised awareness for the cause with various spirit days by wearing sports jerseys, crazy socks and pajamas to school.
“Something so little, that we take for granted, could mean the world to others,” said Ms. Fisher, who noted that the school collected enough money to feed more than 4,000 people. “We should be giving back to be grateful for what we have. Your spare change can turn into a lot of meals.”

Added fifth-grader Katie O’Shea, “People need food to survive. We should be helping people around us.”

Photo Caption: Eleven Newbridge Road Elementary School students showed their crazy socks on “Sock it to Hunger” day to demonstrate how many people can be fed through the donation of $1.

Photo courtesy of North Bellmore Public Schools

Photo Caption: Members of the Hampton Bays Elementary School K-Kids community service club, recently held a kickball fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. Through the pay-to-play kick-ball fundraiser, the students raised more than $200 for the organization.

Photo courtesy of the Hampton Bays School District

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The University of Memphis women’s soccer team ranked No. 2 among all NCAA Division I institutions in community service in 2016-17, NCAA Team Works and Helper Helper announced Friday.

The Tigers were recognized for their work with St. Jude, the Foundation Fighting Blindness and Youth Villages among many others.

“This recognition is really special and unique. We always talk about how fortunate our kids are to be able to do what they do. This world needs people to give back and I’m so proud of this group for giving up their time and giving back to the world,” Memphis head coach Brooks Monaghan said. “We have a great group of kids, who are not only great soccer players, but unbelievable students and just unbelievable citizens.”

Last fall Memphis was recognized for having the highest grade point average in all of Division I during the 2015-16 academic year. The team GPA of 3.78 was the program’s highest ever. Memphis women’s soccer has proven to be the premier academic program in the American Athletic Conference as well, receiving the league’s Team Academic Excellence Award in back-to-back seasons.

The Tigers have also been nationally recognized on the field, standing among those receiving votes for the NSCAA national rankings throughout last season. Memphis returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, playing at Arkansas in the first round.

NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at NCAA championships, and Helper Helper, a volunteer management and tracking platform, launched the community service competition to recognize student-athletes who give back to their communities. The schools’ rankings are based on the amount of service hours completed and the participation of student-athletes.

Source: http://www.gotigersgo.com/news/2017/4/24/womens-soccer-ranks-no-2-in-community-service.aspx

By Knowles Adkisson/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

More than 100 Pine Bluff volunteers rang in a rainy Earth Day Saturday at Pine Bluff First United Methodist Church by packing some 21,000 meals into boxes to distribute to local food pantries.

The boxes will be distributed to local pantries such as Salvation Army and Neighbor to Neighbor, organizers say. Many of the volunteers were student-athletes from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, as well as Pine Bluff High School and Watson Chapel High School.

“Part of our whole mission is community service,” UAPB Athletic Director Lonza Hardy Jr. said. “We try to instill in both staff and students [an urge to volunteer at] reading programs, elementary, and middle school.”

The 125 or more volunteers worked to pump-up music and semi-regular smashes of a large suspended gong to mark their progress, said Michael Lee, an official with Rogers-based The Pack Shack. In just under two hours, the volunteers packed 21,348 meals, Lee said. The non-profit Pack Shack seeks to raise awareness about hunger issues. Nationally, Arkansas is one of the most “food-insecure” states. The Pack Shack’s hashtag is #beneighborly.

Source: http://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20170422/volunteers-pack-21000-food-boxes-for-earth-day