The ELHS basketball team at Pleasant View Senior Center.
Photo credit: Gary DeStephano
EAST LONGMEADOW — Players and coaches from the East Longmeadow High School basketball spread some holiday cheer at the Pleasant View Senior Center on Dec. 29.
The team spent their fifth year at the senior center playing cornhole, along with a donation of 13 bags to their food pantry.
“The Pleasant View Senior Center is so grateful to the East Longmeadow High boys basketball team for their generous donation to our food pantry, and for the time they spent with our members playing cornhole on Monday,” Council on Aging Director Emily Constantino said. “Their visit brought great energy to the center, and brought a smile to all our members’ faces. Their coach, Gary DeStephano, has instilled the importance of giving back to their community into these boys, and it showed during their visit at Pleasant View. We are all so grateful to have hosted the team for a visit that brought forth the opportunity for laughter, conversation and genuine connection.”
The tradition began when head coach Brendan Abad and DeStephano decided they wanted to use their team and platform to help ease certain financial costs among seniors in the community. Nonperishable food items are collected during home games and each player participates in bringing a bag of food.
DeStephano said it’s their way of giving back to the community and tackling the issue of food insecurity.
“It’s such a great cause,” DeStephano said. “Five years later, we continue to do it because we know it’s important.”
He said because the need is so high for food, they want to ensure people don’t struggle with putting food on the table as prices rise. He added it teaches the players on the team that “wherever you are in life, it’s great to give back to your community.”
“The kids really enjoy the visit, interacting with them, talking with them,” DeStephano said. “We’re very proud of our kids for embracing this. They look forward to it. We will continue to do it because it helps the community out, helps the seniors out, so why not continue?”
DeStephano said that the yearly visits have changed and molded the team’s culture. He said that their intentions with the team were to see it as a family and use the platform to build a sense of togetherness.
“As a basketball program we believe that leadership extends beyond competition and performance,” Abad said. “Our players visiting the senior center, along with donating canned goods and non-perishable items, reflects our commitment to serving others and honoring the community that supports us. These experiences help our athletes understand that true leadership is demonstrated through respect, service and meaningful connections off the court.”
A moment that DeStephano said sticks out is seeing the smiles on everybody’s faces. He said the greatest accomplishment is if they can make people smile and feel at ease.
“It’s become an important thing for us,” DeStephano said. “It teaches the players that it’s not just about being on the court, there’s other things in the community to use your platform, use your voice and have a connection. The senior center is kind of our second home now.”
He added that the team will make sure to visit as long as the senior center will have them, and that they also plan to visit again at the end of the season.
