Football team volunteers at Lakeview school carnival Event lasts 3 days; students get chance to experience carnival BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Nick Tritni (No. 34), 10, a student at Lakeview School and Treatment Center, Edison, and Chris Scerbo (No. 76), 17, a member of the J.P. Stevens High School football team, share a laugh during the carnival day held Aug. 10 at Lakeview School. EDISON - Members of the J.P. Stevens High School football team took a trip to outer space, but never left town. The football players volunteered at the Lakeview School and Treatment Center on Aug. 10, taking part in the school's yearly carnival, the theme of which was "Starbase Lakeview." Lakeview is a school that focuses on students with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Each year, the school holds a three-day carnival at the end of the summer term to give the students a chance to cut loose and enjoy themselves. First-year varsity football head coach Joe Riggi and some of his players came to help the students of the school navigate the starbase, playing with them and maybe showing them something about unity along the way. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff "It is something that I believe you should do," Riggi said, "give back to the community. The community has done a lot for them; it's the least we can do." The coach said he hopes helping the students will give his players a chance to bond off the field as they do on the field. "They need to see this," Riggi said. "They need to know and be aware of what it takes to be a community. These kids are looking up to you. When they see you in your game jerseys, it puts a smile on their faces." The team, along with the cheerleaders, brought the students around the school to the various games and attractions that included riding on a swing that looked like a rocket ship and painting some picture frames. Edison Board of Education member Susan Scerbo, whose son is a senior on the football team, gave credit to Riggi for promoting volunteerism, not just touchdowns. "It's part of being a team. With him [Riggi] as a head coach, this is a reflection of who he is going to be," Scerbo said. Above left: Anthony Acosta, 12, and Alyssa Mazza, 17, stroll down the corridors of the Lakeview School on their way to another carnival event. Above right: Rick Cruz smiles while surrounded by members of the football team. Below: Faith Jolloh, 8, leaves J.P. Stevens football player Angelo DiPietro in the dust during a race at the carnival. Chris Scerbo, one of three returning starters from last year, expressed his hope that the community service would help bring the young team together as well as help the students at Lakeview. "We only have three starters coming back," Chris Scerbo said. "It brings us together because we have to take leadership." The students at Lakeview have varying levels of skills, and some are in wheelchairs and others use braces on their legs. Venus Majeski, director of development and community relations for Lakeview, said having the football players and all the volunteers who help out each year is crucial to the carnival's success. "The volunteers really enable us to have so much more activity," Majeski said. "We wouldn't be able to have the scope that we do [without them]." While the school is grateful for all the volunteers they see throughout the year, Majeski said, it is the young people who bring the most joy - it's something in the way they connect. "Young people bring a special kind of dynamic energy and enthusiasm," Majeski said. Majeski believes that the volunteers come away with just as much from the interaction as the Lakeview students do. After seeing the students and working with them, Majeski said the volunteers "gain a new perspective" on who these people are. That sentiment was not lost on junior Michelle Sica, a cheerleader at Stevens High. She already has an interest in working in special education, and this was an opportunity to see that career up close. "You get to talk to them like they are one of us," Sica said. "You get to really understand them."