Polk Street School runs, jumps and slides for charity

Students at the Polk Street School in Franklin Square know a little bit about giving back to their community. Every year, the school has an athletic field day during one student free period where kids are encouraged to get up and get active.

On a warm and sunny Thursday, playground balls and brightly colored cones lined the playing field at Polk Street School, all under an arch of balloons. Passersby could have gotten the impression that the school was having a party, and the smiles on the children’s faces would have backed up that assumption, but there was much more going on than mere revelry.

Every student was encouraged to run, walk, jump, slide and play ball for charity, as they’ve done in two previous years.

This year, the school’s chosen charity was “The Bubba Fund,” named after Scott “Bubba” Pollock, the late son of a Franklin Square School District teacher, Madeline Pollock.

Scott Pollock, who died in 2006, was born with no arms and with malformed legs. Despite his disability, he loved athletics, sports, and staying active. His personal mantra, “failure is not an option,” is the guiding principal by which his family now runs his eponymous charity.

His slogan, now that of the charity, was emblazoned on t-shirts worn by several teachers and administrators.

The Bubba Fund is dedicated to helping disabled students get the funds and materials they need to go to college. Funds from the program are used to purchase things like wheelchairs and books, anything that can help a student in their further educational pursuits.

As for the Polk Street students, they get the opportunity to spend some time in the fresh air, and they also gain some valuable perspective.

“They love doing this, they can’t wait to participate,” said Assistant Principal Tom Riccobono. “They love the event and they love that each year it goes to a different charity.”

In years past, the charity has given to food banks and donated linens to homeless shelters in the New York area.

This year, Riccobono said, the focus was on students reaching out to help disabled children, as a way to help them appreciate people’s differences.

“Even though we may look different on the outside, we’re all the same, that’s the message,” he said.

Polk Street Principal Elizabeth Hunt said that “The Bubba Fund” is a great way to get students thinking about their peers or neighbors who might have disabilities.

During a prelude to the event, Hunt said, students attended an assembly where Pollock came to speak about her son and the challenges he faced during his life. All of the students, she said, paid rapt attention.

“Having [Pollock] tell the story, you could hear a pin drop,” she said. “The kids were really moved to hear that some people really struggle a lot, and that sometimes we take easy things like walking to go to your car for granted.”

Also helping the school put on the event were the people from “InShape Kids” an organization that specialized in helping students stay active and teaching them healthy habits that will keep them in shape for life.

“Anything that can get the children moving, and having fun moving and understanding that movement and is fun for them, we’ll be behind it,” said Dean Giamundo, president of InShape Kids. “Today’s goal is really to help support the charity and introduce them to different types of exercise, long term our goal is really to educate and build healthy habits with both children and their parents.”

Pollock herself, who has been a teacher in the district for more than 30 years, said it was incredibly moving to see hundreds of kids who she knows personally get out and support the message that her son lived his life in service to.

“This really is my home away from home, so I’m very moved and very touched, and I’m just so excited that we’re able to take ‘The Bubba Fund’ and turn it into a disability awareness program for the kids,” Pollock said.

She added that just having students from the district getting up and gaining self-confidence as well as healthy habits was a huge win for the charity and for the memory of her son.

“He had such a tremendous zest for life, so when I see these kids, involved in going out there and giving their best, it’s such a tremendous tribute to him,” Pollock said. “But more importantly that these kids receive his message that failure is not an option. That’s the way he lived, and I want them to really truly believe in themselves and that they can achieve almost anything.”

Students ended up raising more than $1,400 for the charity.