Latham, NY- The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has announced the North Salem Middle/High School’s Girls Volleyball Team (Section I) as the winner of the fall 2022 Community Service Challenge.

North Salem’s Girls Volleyball team was chosen by the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during its recent meeting at the SAAC Summit held in Syracuse, NY. This is the first time North Salem has won this prestigious award.

A long-standing tradition of the North Salem Girls Volleyball team has been to work with the Side-Out Foundation to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. This year, Gigi LeClair, a senior on the Girls Volleyball team, took charge of this initiative leading and organizing events to help raise money. The team engaged in a multitude of activities including decorating the hallways and gyms of their school to create awareness and held a car wash fundraiser at the local fire station.

LeClair tragically lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 13, which was her motivating force during this community project. As a result, the North Salem Girls Volleyball team raised over $19,000 for the Side-Out Foundation and its Dig Pink Program.

"This fundraiser's foundation was built on love and the joy of helping others,” said LeClair. “Our very small town had a very big impact. Thank you to my team, the staff that helped, and the people who have gotten up every day and fought. My only wish is to remember the people we have lost and use their memory to power our project further."

“The North Salem Volleyball team could not be more honored to receive the award,” said Toni Fiore, North Salem Girls Volleyball Head Coach. “It is truly an incredible experience for such an important cause.  The team worked so earnestly to be able to say it helped those individuals and families fighting metastatic breast cancer. We received so much support from the community and are so thankful for their efforts in helping us reach and surpass our goal.”

A total of 179 community service projects were submitted for consideration through the Team Up 4 Community platform. In total, more than 8,000 NYSPHSAA student-athletes donated over 128,000 hours of their time to some sort of community service project this fall. Those hours resulted in $198,748 raised for charitable causes. The NYSPHSAA Community Challenge has been in existence since 2011.

“The Community Service Challenge is a great program to showcase the positive impact student-athletes can have within their communities,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “We could not be prouder to recognize North Salem’s Girls Volleyball team for their commitment and dedication to such a worthy cause.”

North Salem’s full submission can be viewed here.
 
Previous Community Service Challenge Champions-
 
2021-22 Fall, Bethpage Senior High School (Section VIII)
Winter, Arlington High School-Wrestling Program (Section I)
Spring, Oceanside High School (Section VIII)
 
2020-21 Fall, Maple Hill Jr./Sr. High School-Girls Soccer Program (Section 2)
Winter, Columbia High School (Section 2)
Spring, John F. Kennedy High School (Section VIII)
 
2019-20 Fall, Ossining High School-Football Team (Section I)
Winter, Cambridge Central School-Girls Basketball Program (Section 2)
Spring, Smithtown High School West-Football Team (Section XI)
 
2018-19 Fall, Canandaigua Academy-Girls Volleyball Team (Section V)
Eastport South Manor-Boys Volleyball Team (Section (XI)
Winter, Harrison High School-Athletes in Action (Section I)
Spring, Hewlett High School-Leaders Club (Section VIII)
 
2018 - Farmingdale High School (Section VIII)
 
2017 – Akron High School (Section VI)
 
2016 – Mahopac High School (Section I)
 
2015 – Kings Park High School (Section XI)
 
2014 – Arlington High School (Section I)
 
2013 – Columbia High School (Section 2)
 
2012 – Ossining High School (Section I)
 
2011 – Adirondack Central School (Section III)