Community Service is in the spotlight once again at The Storm King School. Each weekend, our students volunteer to help important local causes such as the Hudson Valley Food Bank and the Newburgh Armory (NAUC) while they earn community service hours toward graduation. Now, they have a ‘beautiful’ new addition to the SKS service roster which they can choose: Beautiful People Adaptive Sports.

Beautiful People is a non-profit organization with the mission of “building bridges between children with disabilities and their families and the broader community by providing adaptive sports for children and young adults.” On two Saturdays in February, faculty member Mrs. Lisa Shrem took members of the girls and boys varsity basketball teams and other SKS students to play basketball with some of Beautiful People’s children.

“I have some personal experience with Beautiful People and thought it would be a great opportunity for our students. On the first trip, members of the girls varsity basketball team and several other students signed up to work with the kids on cheerleading and basketball skills. During the second trip, the boys varsity basketball team shared their knowledge and skills with the children. I am extremely proud of all the SKS students who attended. It was a unique learning experience for each of them and they all did a great job helping the children learn, engage, and have fun. I can’t wait to bring our students back in the spring to participate in the Beautiful People baseball program,” she explained.

 

 

Richard “RJ” Delahaye ’22

 

“Being a basketball player myself, I believe I was very helpful to the children because I could teach them skills they didn’t have before. Also, just being able to share my love for basketball with them was amazing! Going into the day, I didn’t know what to expect. When our team arrived and I was assigned my partner, I tried to focus on keeping a positive mindset. At times, he would get upset because he couldn’t do something. By the end of the hour, he was able to do everything we worked on and he had a really good time.

 

 

What I enjoyed the most about the experience was the environment. Seeing all those kids learn and play basketball was really heartwarming. I am grateful I was able to be a part of it. I definitely think this experience also helped us as a Storm King team. Not only did it improve our chemistry, it helped each one of us be a leader and demonstrate our own leadership abilities. This is something everyone should be able to do both on and off the basketball court.”

 

Jasper Lok Fung Lung ’24

 

“I decided to help Beautiful People because the activity helps children with different kinds of disabilities to participate in sports and socialize. Growing up, I also experienced some of the challenges these children are facing. That’s why I really wanted to support them to engage in social activities and create new friendships.

 

 

Our role at Beautiful People is to be buddies– supporting partners– for the children. Even though I don’t play basketball, I enjoyed the whole experience because I can help others have more confidence and make them smile.  Being able to do this is a part of my dream career.

I worked with a boy who struggled with mobility so he didn’t have enough courage to join in the activities. The Beautiful People coach guided us step-by-step and we began to see his potential in shooting baskets. Soon he was taking turns shooting the ball to the hoop and we all felt really happy for him to step out of his comfort zone and experience something new. Doing community service at Beautiful People is definitely worth signing up for. You will learn something and feel accomplished, and become addicted to helping these kids.”

 

Yuxin “Cloris” Zhao ’22:

 

“When I looked at Beautiful People’s website, I was attracted to their mission.  I thought it would be very meaningful if I could bring happiness to those children through my own power. One of the hardest things was communication because some of the children don’t speak. I was paired up with a little girl named Gabriel. At first, I tried to talk with her, but she stayed quiet and played with the ball by herself. Later, I chose to accompany her silently, no longer trying to force her to talk. After a while, she began talking to me and asked what my name was. Gradually, we got to know each other. I learned that she was 10 years old and her favorite sport is playing basketball.

While shooting baskets, sometimes other kids took her ball away and she looked very sad. I encouraged her to speak up, and after much hesitation, she finally spoke to the coach. I was so proud of her. Then, every time she made a basket she would high-five me with her eyes full of pride. At the end, she hugged me and asked if I would come again next week. Before I left, I told her that I would come to play with her whenever I could. Her parents came to thank me with sincerity and gratitude.”

 

 

Cloris, a senior at SKS, was so moved by her work at Beautiful People that she is writing a supplementary essay about her experience to submit to the colleges she has applied to. She and her friends are also shooting and editing a video. “I intend to major in communications. I think the essay is a good way to show the colleges what I have done. I also hope to use the video to promote the Beautiful People program within the Storm King community and spread some positivity,” explains Cloris.