Seven Huntington High School varsity boys’ basketball players spent time in a pre-kindergarten program classroom at Southdown Primary School reading to the youngsters and sharing their love of books. The little kids enjoyed every minute of the visit.
Dylan Coleman, Kevin Drake, Max Rentsch, Clayton Ward, Charlie Girimonti, Henry Vohs and Aidan McNulty volunteered for the community service initiative developed by Blue Devil varsity head coach Kenneth Parham.
The players and their coach met in the picnic area prior to heading into the classroom. They dined on pizza and sandwiches and reviewed plans for their classroom visit with Parham.
Once inside the building, the towering varsity basketball players and their coach quickly became stars to the pre-kindergarteners, who embraced the teenagers.
The players spread out among the class members and each of them read to small groups of youngsters, discussing the books and pictures as they went along. Neither the players nor the pre-kindergarteners wanted their time in the classroom to end.
“It is important to help instill in our players a sense of community and responsibility to help others,” Parham said. “We are striving to develop a top notch program both on and off the court. We are fortunate to have players who enjoy performing community service. This is our second project this year. Players are learning it is both fun and rewarding.”
