By: NYSPHSAA Staff
(LATHAM, NY) - The New York State Public High School Athletic Association Inc. (NYSPHSAA) announces Oceanside High School (Section VIII) as the Winter 2024 Community Service Challenge winner. This is the 12th year the program has been in existence and the second time Oceanside has won in the last three years. The Community Service Challenge is presented by NYSPHSAA partner NYCM Insurance.
Oceanside program ‘Scholar Athletes in Service to Others Corps’ earned the Community Service Challenge award after their ‘Trees for Troops’ event, sending over 700 Christmas trees, along with menorahs, pine cones and additional ‘sparks’ of joy to military members serving overseas during the holiday season.
"Our student-athletes take every opportunity to make sure we are giving back to the community, learning from others, and leading from a place of service” said Oceanside Athletic Director Tom Lehman. “The ‘Trees for Troops’ event is a reminder of how fortunate we are and how small gestures go a long way."
Oceanside was selected by the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) which reviewed each of the 174 submissions from this winter. Oceanside stood out with their efforts to partner with other service groups in their community, and providing over $23,000 value of time served by their scholar athletes.
“Helping others is the way we help ourselves. This means to be kind, caring, and to show up with your presence. This is the way to make the world a better place along with the atmosphere around you” said Oceanside senior student-athlete Mary Jane Brosokas. “I am super big on giving back to the community and others with not wanting anything in return. Stay humble and kind!”
Oceanside High School will be recognized with an award presented at a Board of Education meeting later this spring.
This winter, a total of 174 community service projects were submitted for consideration through the Team Up 4 Community platform. In total, more than 10,300 NYSPHSAA student-athletes donated over 66,500 hours of their time to a community service project this winter. Those hours resulted in $75,388 raised for charitable causes.
“For the 70 Oceanside student-athletes involved in the 'Service to Others Corps' to dedicate their time to giving back and spreading some holiday joy to service members overseas emphasizes the clubs core values, while being an example of what it means to have ‘character’” said NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas. “The community contributions made by the over 10,000 student-athletes this winter are what makes the student-athletes within New York some of the best in the country.”
A winner for the NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge is selected each season. This year concluded with the highest number of student-athletes participating since the collaborative launch with Team Up 4 Community. Over 20,000 student-athletes completed 474 community service projects, resulting in over 114,000 hours of service.
Team Up 4 Community is now accepting submissions for the Spring 2024 Community Service Challenge. Teams have until June 3, 2024 to submit their community service projects, and can learn more here.
