High Schoolers Go Above And Beyond To Help Disabled Classmates Play Lacrosse, Too

Six high schoolers are getting national recognition after they began a not-for-profit to help disabled athletes called “Lacrosse My Heart.”

The students and lifelong friends are part of New York’s Roslyn High School Lacrosse team. They got the idea to start the organization after realizing that so many people in their school and community didn’t have the chance to bond over team sports as they did.

For their first good deed, the teens raised $5,000 to support a local wheelchair lacrosse team called The Hammerheads.

“My friends, my co-founders and I have been playing together since we were five years old and lacrosse has done so much for us,” Lacrosse My Heart co-founder Zach Mashaal told Fox & Friends. “So we wanted to give back to the community by connecting through organizations like the Hammerheads or people who have not been exposed to lacrosse at a young age and show them the love of the sport.”

Hammerheads team member Joe Slaninka said the teens’ efforts are a blessing because organizations like his rely on community support. But they’re often overlooked.

“We are community-based programs,” he said. “There are not a lot of great fundraising opportunities for us. So when organizations like Zach’s come to us and say, ‘Hey, we want to help you out and do something,’ it’s huge.”

“It also kind of shows that we play lacrosse, [and] they play lacrosse, so it’s the common thread,” he added.

According to its website, the charity will continue with its goal to make lacrosse “accessible to individuals of all abilities.”

“[These high schoolers] really have restored our faith in the youth of America [by taking] on this initiative and think[ing] about people other than themselves, people in need,” Mike Nelson, president of USA Lacrosse’s Long Island chapter, shared.”.… from the lacrosse community to the lacrosse community.”

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.