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Rising Stars Youth Foundation
Latest Updates – February 2018

To Our Rising Stars Family, 

Rising Stars started off the New Year with some amazing things on and off the court. We are very proud of all the children in our Rising Stars family for their hard work and commitment.

Here are some great things we have been up to this month…..

All of our boys winter teams have been extremely competitive. Most notably our 5th grade team coached by Dana Holmes who has a 5-2 record, Coach John Fischetti’s 6th team has a 6-1 record, and coach Nikko Callender’s team has 5-1 record. Our 7th grade RS Elite team has been making some noise and made it to the spotlight semifinals in New Jersey. They competed hard and showed they belonged along side the best teams!

3rd and 6th Grade Elite Teams with Coach Syd Barrington

Time and time again the Rising Stars Elite 9u boys prove that they are indeed an ELITE team. Having played up in the MLK HoopDreamers Classic as a 3rd grade team, the Rising Stars quickly dismantled their competition with their vexing full court pressure defense. From players 1-10, the physicality of this experienced team is intense. Damien Scott ’27 led the way the entire weekend as the team went 3-0 to win the championship by averaging 14 ppg, 3apg and 3spg. His scoring opportunities came from his team mates as they were looking for him in the open court. We look forward to seeing this energetic group back for the spring.

Sixth Grade was selected to be be in a TV commercial for Dicks Sporting Goods®, which will air during upcoming major sports events.
6th grade received custom championship gear for winning TriState Classic.
3rd grade played in the 4th grade division in two separate MLK tournaments on the same weekend. They went 5-1 overall and made the championship game in both grade tournaments. They went on to win the BTG MLK Hoop Dreamers Classic.

Our girls teams have shown how the Rising Stars difference turns into on the court success in 2018! Our 4th-8th grade teams have a combined overall record of 29-13 through a very competitive schedule.

Our first year 7th grade outreach team coached by Danielle Wilson has come out aggressive with an impressive 3-0 record. These girls are working hard to come together on the court and in the classroom.

We are so proud of how the girls have represented themselves on and off the court. Many nights you can walk into Island Garden and see a Rising Stars girls team playing, and another Rising Stars girls team cheering them on from the sidelines. Keep up the hard work and finish the Winter Season strong!

Rising Stars 7th Grade with Coach O’Neill
Coach Hughes 6th grade team

Scholarship Application Update:

We are very excited about the 22 applicants for Rising Stars Academic Scholarships. We are hoping to award more scholarships this year than ever before! The interviews are all set for February and we look forward to introducing THE RS SCHOLARS CLASS of 2022 in early March!

It’s not too late if you know someone who currently in 8th grade and has been with Rising Stars for more than 2 years, please tell them to reach out to Emily at 917-750-1641.

BEAUTIFUL ME WORKSHOP

What happens when a group of female student athletes stack their cell phones, look each other in the eyes across a round table and take 2 hours to honor their amazing and unique qualities? JOY happens. GRATITUDE happens. SELF-ESTEEM & AWARENESS happens.

On January 17th, Rising Stars girls participated in a self-esteem and girl’s empowerment workshop called, “BEAUTIFUL ME”. We had a great night highlighting the extraordinary qualities of all our female student athletes!

Thank you to our AMAZING Rising Stars girls and their families for participating. Thank you to the “Hance Family Foundation EAK Beautiful Me Program” for their partnership. Thank you to Emma, Aly and Katie Hance for the inspiration that is leaving an indelible mark of empowerment on so many young girls.

The night of January 7, 2018 was a record COLD one, but Rising Stars players brought special WARMTH to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in New Hyde Park as they participated in the Meals from the Heart Program. The kids learned that they were doing more than just making a home cooked meal for the 80 families that are staying at RMH to be near their sick children at Cohen’s Children’s Hospital. They learned that they are showing these families heart-warming care, and that gives them hope.

We are so proud of our Rising Stars volunteers who represent everything that The Rising Stars Youth Foundation stands for!

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 17 – We will be distributing food and supplies to homeless New Yorkers with THE HOMELESS BUS

March 25 – We will be preparing brunch for families staying at THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE of Long Island

March 25 – Rising Stars 4th Annual Shoot-a-thon

April 15 – We will be packing food for MEALS FROM THE HEART at LUHI

May 22 – 16th Annual Rising Stars Youth Foundation Gala at New York Athletic Club

Join us!

Don’t just put on the jersey, get in the game with us! Support our players, program, and purpose. You can do this by not only going to our games and tournaments, but by also following and engaging with us on social media to spread our message. With your help we can continue to offer our players more opportunities to play, learn, and grow though the Rising Star’s Difference. Donate your time, energy, resources, or funds to make a difference in a student athlete’s life. Click here to see how you can get involved.