Maryann Ferris asked one simple question: “Can Ivan Nova hit a Wiffle ball?” after the Yankees pitcher struck out several times in a row while hanging out with the Rockaway Special Athletes (RSA) yesterday.
Ferris was attending the event with a family member. Nova was joined by fellow Yankees David Adams, Zoilo Almonte, Preston Claiborne, Alberto Gonzalez and Adam Warren at St. Rose of Lima School in Rockaway to enjoy recess activities with the special athletes as the kickoff of the team’s HOPE Week.
The RSA, led by Joe Featherston, usually meets at St. Camilius School in Rockaway, but that school’s gymnasium was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, resulting in a switch to the Rose of Lima.
The RSA had 39 of its 47 members present. Regina Clark, the mother of Paul Fitzpatrick, 30, said the RSA “didn’t apply for the event,” but the Yankees “reached out to them because of a video” they had posted on YouTube. She concurred with several other supervisors that the event had a great turn-out.
The athletes didn’t know the Yankees were going to visit their school. The event was kept under wraps until the players’ arrival. Many parents were thrilled when they found out, and a few supervisors said the overall atmosphere was greatly heightened.
Although the program tries to be uplifting and foster a can-do attitude, the Yankees’ presence increased that sentiment exponentially, as the RSA joined the Yankees in games of Wiffle ball, kickball and basketball.
The Yankees donated $5,000 to the RSA, with undisclosed amounts given to St. Rose of Lima and St. Camilius.
It is hoped the donations will fund construction for the St. Camilius gym. After Sandy, most of the gym’s athletic equipment was destroyed, so the program was essentially set back to where it was when it opened 16 years ago.
Fran Romano, 64, originally from Staten Island, is grateful for the event because it allows her daughter, Jen, 30, “to see people she knows from school.” people who she would have otherwise not been able to see.
Renovating the gym will most likely allow Featherston to increase the membership of the RSA, and potentially increase the private funds raised. Since the RSA is run purely on a volunteer basis, it is the desire of the RSA’s supervisors the program continue to grow as it has in its past.
However, if any funds remain, many parents hope Featherston will continue bringing the athletes on trips. They have visited Florida, upstate New York and other locations in recent years.