Team Up 4 Community and Section XI are proud to announce Sachem North High School Boys Volleyball as the 2019- 2020 Section XI Community Service Champions. They were selected by Section XI from the entries submitted into the 2019- 2020 NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge.
Team Up 4 Community has partnered with the NYSPHSAA for the past two years to encourage Youth Athletes to give back to their communities through the NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge! The Team Up 4 Community portal provides schools, athletes and teams the opportunity to showcase community service projects which ultimately fosters young peoples’ sense of civic engagement and community thus helping them achieve their educational, developmental and social goals.
“Community Service is an integral part of the Interscholastic Athletic experience. Through community service, student-athletes, coaches, and administrators are able to give back to the communities that support them each and every day!”- NYSPHSAA.org
Sachem North Boys Volleyball hosted a number of events for their coach, teacher and alumnus Matt “Dezy” DiStefano. Last February DiStefano was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer and the community outpouring of support for him and his family has been incredible.
He decided to channel that support into a Foundation that would help others who are battling cancer. The Dezy Strong Foundation was created in the Fall of 2019. The organization’s initiative has been to promote Dezy Strong games to raise awareness and support for the organization, which spreads positivity to other suffering from horrible diseases and circumstances. All Suffolk County high school boys and girls teams are participating as well as collegiate women’s teams such as Hofstra, UNC, Duke, Oregon. In addition, Division I mens teams Pepperdine and UCLA also participated. More information for the organization can be found on their website: www.dezystrong.org.
Sachem North Boys Volleyball hosted a number of events for the Dezy Strong Foundation this year, the largest of which was their Dezy Strong Game on September 3 that raised $4,200. The players also worked to support various games around Long Island and sold Dezy Strong Gear throughout the community raising an additional $2,000. The team competed in a #WeGetTo Swim Contest with the Sachem North Girls Swimming team which raised over $500 for the cause.
The teams efforts are a wonderful tribute to the message of the Foundation that “Every day is a chance to give yourself to someone or something in a positive way. “ – DEZYSTRONG.ORG
Dezy Strong Foundation Founder Matt DiStefano passed away in January of this year. His spirit, strength, and message will continue to make an impact across communities on Long Island and nationwide.
