Category Archives: Community Service

Harborfields Hosts Pink Game for Cancer Awareness

Harborfields Girls Basketball recently hosted Half Hollow Hills for its annual Coaches vs Cancer Pink Game.

Last year, the team invited a local elementary student battling cancer. She recently had to have her leg amputated. The team invited her again this year – and what a year it was for this amazing young lady. She wrote a book, received a prosthetic, and has clean scans.

The teams headed to the locker room after the presentation to this girl and her family. The first player on Hills kneeled in front of our honoree and gave her a double fist pump. The remainder of the team followed suit, and so did the coaches.

If you were lucky enough to catch this moment, you had tears in your eyes and realized that this is what sports should be about. These players are role models. They offered support and hope to a little girl and didn’t pity her for her situation but honored her for her fight.

Middle Country and Longwood Recognized by Team Up 4 Community

Middle Country and Longwood placed second and third, respectively, in the winter Long Island Holiday Sports Heroes Challenge hosted by Team Up 4 Community.

The final stats for winter 2024: 36,429 athletes dedicated 198,831-plus hours to community service, giving back $1.8M in impact!

Middle Country hosted a Hoops for Hope event to raise awareness of cancer. Coach Andrew Gallo conceived the idea for Hoops for Hope during his wife’s third day of chemotherapy treatment. He was inspired to give back to the community that had shown immense generosity during such a challenging time. Choosing Positively Pink as the event sponsor was a meaningful decision, as its founder, Maria McMullen, is a close friend of his wife and a former Middle Country teacher.

Throughout October, Longwood’s Junior High, Junior Varsity, and Varsity cheerleaders turned each home football game into a celebration of support for breast cancer awareness with their “Tuck for a Buck” fundraiser. The cheerleaders took their spirit beyond the sidelines, rallying fans and collecting donations in the stands with pink pom poms in hand.

Enter Long Island Holiday Sports Heroes Video Challenge

Are you a Long Island athlete, team, or organization that involves 6-24-year-old athletes in giving back to your community? If so, Team Up 4 Community wants to hear from you!

We are challenging our L.I. Athletes to be a Sports Hero to a cause or someone in need this 2023 Holiday Season and see how big of an IMPACT we can make together in our L.I. Communities!

All those who enter have a chance to receive a scholarship or grant.

$5,000 in Scholarships & Grants will be awarded!

  • First Place Winner receives a $3,000 scholarship or grant.
  • Second Place Winner receives a $1,500 scholarship or grant.
  • Third Place Winner receives a $500 scholarship or grant.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE AND ENTER! 

Team Up For Community: Rocky Point Digs Pink

Rocky Point High School junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball teams recently hosted their 10th annual Dig Pink Breast Cancer Fundraiser.

The entire district contributed to the success of this event and the community has embraced this event as one that defines the quality of their character. A giving, selfless, uplifting, supportive and strong team of individuals.

The young women of the volleyball program and their parents continue to, year in and year out, exceed expectations. In an era where cancer permeates the airways, Rocky Point’s athletic community and beyond regularly stands united in their quest to honor those who have fallen, stand with those who are fighting and admire those who have survived.

CLICK to read more … 

Team Up For Community: SWR Soccer

On Saturday, September 29, 2018, the Boys and Girls varsity soccer teams hosted a fundraiser for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

This organization was chosen because of the support they continue to demonstrate to the families of our fallen heroes. This past year the Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgages of two servicemen from the Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing in Westhampton who lost their lives defending our freedom:  Tech. Sgt. Dashan Briggs of Port Jefferson Station and FDNY Lt. Christopher Raguso of Commack.

Because of the Foundation, the wives and children of these heroes will have one less thing to worry about. They can continue to live in their homes without having the burden of paying a mortgage. READ MORE!

Team Up 4 Community: Lindenhurst Athletics Walk-A-Thon

On September 23, 2018, Lindenhurst Union Free School District athletic teams, coaches, administrators and community members, along with local and state politicians, joined members of the Renna family at the 12th annual Christina Renna Foundation Walk-A-Thon and Blood Drive held at Lindenhurst Middle School.

Christina, a former student of the Lindenhurst School District, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and passed away in 2007. READ MORE!

Team Up 4 Community: Smithtown XC

We will post occasional pieces about community service by our Section XI schools and teams! To learn more, go to Team Up 4 Community!

After practice on Monday, Aug. 27, members of the Smithtown East and West high school boys’ cross country team, led by coaches Peter Schieck and Mark Jackett, headed down to the Island Harvest farm in Brentwood to volunteer for a couple of hours.

Island Harvest is the largest hunger relief organization on Long Island, serving more than 300,000 Long Islanders annually, including adults, children, families, seniors, and veterans, through their network of approximately 570 food pantries, soup kitchens, and other emergency programs.

The boys learned about Island Harvest from staff member Hillary Hess, and then pulled weeds in between the rows of vegetables, as well as harvesting some zucchini and eggplant. It was a hot day, but the boys learned a lot and had fun serving their fellow Long Islanders in need!