Floral Park – A Community To Be Proud Of

High school students volunteer their time to give kids a great afternoon of fun

Floral+Park+-++A+Community+To+Be+Proud+Of

Michael Viscovich, Editor-in-Chief

​On November 19th, the Village of Floral Park once again hosted the Turkey Bowl at the Floral Park Recreation Center. The Turkey Bowl is an annual touch football game that has been put on for the past eight years for special needs children from the Sewanhaka School District who really just want a day of fun. Each year these children come to the park filled with energy and excitement because they get to play one of America’s favorite sports.

​Before the game started, each child was given a jersey and placed on a team. When the game started, it was apparent how happy they were to be on the field. They were all running to get the ball because they all wanted to score a touchdown. The coaches made sure that each child was able to get the ball to try and score a touchdown. Not only did these kids get an opportunity to score a touchdown, they also were able to throw and spike the ball. The purpose of this football game was not to be competitive, or for one team to lose, the purpose was to make sure that every child was having fun and participating.

Senior Kyle Flanagan was an assistant coach on the field. He was also a member of the varsity football team at Floral Park Memorial. “I had a blastk,” said Flanagan. “It’s always a fun time to see the kids get to go out and play football. It’s just a great opportunity and great fun.”

Both teams played amazing football and the game ended in a tie.

“My son was talking about this all weekend,” said Ms. Hayden, an English teacher at Floral Park Memorial whose son Joseph played in the game for the second time. “I am so thankful for all the volunteers who made this an amazing day.”

​This wasn’t the end of the day though because ten minutes after the game ended the children got a surprise visitor who landed in the middle of the field in a police helicopter. This visitor was none other than Santa Claus himself. The second he came out of the helicopter, the kids started cheering and yelling out his name because they wanted to meet him. When he came over, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They were actually going to meet Santa. Soon every kid there was in line waiting to get his picture taken with him and to receive a medal. It was truly a great way to kick off the holiday season. When Santa finished meeting everyone and taking pictures he got back into the helicopter and took off. After that everyone was treated to hot dogs, hamburgers, and some desert.

​The Turkey Bowl is such an important event because it allows special needs children to come together and have a good time with each other. No one has to worry about being excluded because everyone is included. It is a great life lesson for everyone involved.