May 2008
Team 3 Members traveled down to the Food Change soup kitchen and pantry on 116th Street and 7th Avenue on May 16th and May 21st for two days of services. The team assisted the Food Change staff in all areas, ranging from preparing vegatables for meals, making take out bags, serving clients dinner in the distrubution area, and helping clean up the kitchen and dining hall afterwards. Afterwards, the staff at Food Change complimented the students on their hard work and eagerly ask for their return. Great job Team 3!
Over 90 students, staff, and members of Young Leadership Committee joined 40,000 of their fellow New Yorkers in completing the 10 km 2008 AIDS Walk through Central and Riverside Park on Sunday May 18th. The weather cooperated just enough for everyone to complete the walk, and everyone enjoyed a meal out afterwards. To date, StreetSquash has raised over $2,500 for the forty plus organizations that benefit from the wak. The top fundraisers from StreetSquash were Team 4 member Brittany Jackson, Team 3 member Henry Spicer, Team 5 member Lawrence Daise, Team 1 member Sheena Suckoo, Team 3 member Paige Babilonia, and Team 5 member Terrance Rose. Congradulations to all the participants on their fundraising and walking efforts.
April 2008
65 StreetSquash students participated in the fifth annual Urban Team Championships over the April 11th weekend. The Championships, held for the first time at SquashSmarts’ facility in Philadelphia, featured a record number seven program, including new program SquashHaven and SurfCity Squash from San Diego. On the court, StreetSquash enjoyed great success as both the Girls and Boys U19 teams captured their respective titles. In addition, both Girls and Boys U15 teams took a strong second place, and several other teams did well in the B divisions. Congradulations to all the participants from StreetSquash and all other urban squash programs.
11 StreetSquash students traveled down to surburban Philadelphia to compete in the US Squash Junior Bronze Championships in early April. Staying with local families, the students played in three days in matches at the Berwyn Squash Club and the Fairmount Athletic Club in King of Prussia. In the tournament, Team 1 members Sheena Suckoo, Gabby Robinson, and Princess Robinson all had strong weekends, as they took first, second, and fourth place respectively in the Girls’ U19 division. Likewise, Team 4 member Jazmin Matos showed great progress in her second junior tournament, as she finished sixth in the Girls U15 division. Thank you to the Giammattei and Tom families for hosting the students.
Members of Team 2 had their final college tour of the year in April. The group visited SUNY Purchase, Manhattanville College, SUNY New Paltz, Marist College and Vassar College. Team member Shanese Patterson came away most impressed by Marist’s pre-dentistry program, and Jennifer Moses proudly took home the Vassar college catalog to show to her family. The Vassar squash coach, Jane Parker, generously hosted a fantastic squash clinic for the students and helped organize lunch and a tour of the campus led by her squash players. Thanks, Jane!
March 2008
Eight StreetSquash high school boys traveled to the University Club on March 22nd to practice and play with several Club members. Each student played several games with volunteers, teammates, and coaches, and some members even mixed in some hardball doubles with staff member Max Franklin afterwards. StreetSquash would like to thank University Club Pro Jonny Smith and members Rob Weller, Nick Phillips, Robert and Aaron Gilbrater, and Ned Edwards for their time.
As part of an ongoing fundraising effort for new StreetSquash Jackets, the StreetSquash Parents’ Board have conducted several different activities on behalf of our students. The Board’s first fundraiser was the StreetSquash Paraphernalia raffle basket which we raised $450, and the second fundraiser was a pledge sheet drive, which netted $1,731. Currently, the Board is running its third fundraiser, a 25/75 raffle, in which we hope to have full participation from all parents and to raise the remaining balance for the jackets. Thank you to all the parents who have contributed their time and efforts so far.
Top Pledge Sheet Fundraisers
Ms. Rosa Clyburn - $605
Mr. and Mrs. Dalton Rodney - $305
Ms. Patricia McCoy - $ 265
23 Team 5 and 6 students took the Metro-North train to New Haven to the new Squash Haven program in Team 6’s second match of the year. The students were excited to play after the original match in December was canceled due to bad weather. Everyone played hard in what will hopefully be an annual junior teams event. Although StreetSquash fell 8-15, the match served as a big motivator for everyone to train for Urban Team Nationals in early April. Thank to Julie Greenwood and everyone at Squash Haven for hosting this great event.