In collaboration with the Hewlett House, LHS Key Club (KC) organized a night out at a Nets game for Cancer Awareness Night. The Long Island Nets (the G-League team of the Brooklyn Nets) faced off against the Westchester Knicks (the New York Knicks’ G-League team) on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Nassau Coliseum. Tickets were sold for $30, with $10 going to the Hewlett House. The Hewlett House is an organization run by Gerri Barish—a five-time cancer survivor—that works to support cancer patients at every stage of treatment by providing services and care. To promote the event, students created flyers, made announcements, posted on the KC Instagram page (@lhskeyclubb), and shared the link to purchase tickets to friends and family.
To kick off the event, members of the KC took to the court for the national anthem as part of the Anthem Buddies pregame experience. The first 1,000 fans received a Nets hat for attending. Junior Justin Haberman had the opportunity to announce the game. Haberman recalled, “Being able to co-host the game was one of the best nights of my life. It was an unbelievable experience and opportunity. The experience was educational and fun: I learned about everyone’s backgrounds and networked with the media team. I want to thank [KC advisor Dr. Benedict Tieniber] for giving me this opportunity and Key Club for doing an amazing job raising money. I was proud and honored to represent Lynbrook.”
Furthermore, during the game, various organizations and people were recognized for their battles with or support for those with cancer, including Gerri Barish, Eric Guzzo, and charities like the Daniela Conte Foundation, Little Saint Nick, and Hewlett House. The groups walked around the court during the Celebration Parade while the crowd cheered them on. Afterwards, they were recognized with purple cancer awareness jerseys, and a picture was taken of them on the court. Throughout the game, there was plenty of entertainment, from dances performed by the Nets and Adelphi dance teams to shirts being thrown into the crowd, as well as an inflatable basketball shooting area, the crowd volume meter, raffles, food, and Dippin’ Dots for a sweet treat. Haberman explained how his favorite part of the event was seeing what goes on behind the scenes and how much work is put into it; he attended meetings and sound checks to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Finally, to culminate the evening, KC members and virtual enterprise students took a group picture on the court with Barish and other Hewlett House representatives, which was then followed by a free throw contest. Sophomore and KC treasurer Luke Pignataro expressed, “This event was so much fun. I really enjoyed competing with my friends during the free throw contest and watching the game with them. It really brought everyone together.” Junior and KC member Ana Juarez agreed, adding, “My personal favorite event was the group photos as it really showed how many people came out and supported this event.”
From the free throws to the Nets’ big win, the students had a blast. Haberman related, “It was fantastic. It was very organized, and the Long Island Nets organization did a phenomenal job helping bring awareness to cancer.” Lynbrook looks forward to working with Hewlett House in the future and attending this event again next year.
