Remembering someone by helping others

As summer approaches and high school seniors look toward their transition off to college and their next steps, one scholarship at Long Beach High School not only benefits a senior — but also commemorates a life.

For Brooke Yellin, a former Long Beach High School student and daughter of Geri Yellin, this scholarship allows for her to do two things she loves — give back to her high school and keep her mother’s legacy alive.

The Geri E. Yellin Scholarship is given annually to one LBHS student who embodies the character of Brooke’s late mother, who died in 2018.

“I’m doing this for the people who are strong, brave, determined and kind-hearted like my mom,” Yellin said. “It’s enjoyable to give back to those students that remind me of her.”

Yellin commended each of her past recipients of the award immensely for the qualities that she and the faculty at the high school saw in each of them. One of the former recipients was Robert Browne, a student who, despite being paralyzed from the chest down in a 2014 surfing accident, came back to walk the stage at his graduation in June 2019.

Like Browne, Yellin’s mother beat the odds herself. She survived a condition in which only five percent of her oxygen reached her brain as a child, one in which doctors told her family that she wasn’t likely to survive past two weeks old. She also beat the odds in having Brooke, surviving through endometriosis to have someone “she really wanted.”

“I was truly blessed to have this woman as my mom,” Yellin said. “She worked tirelessly to give me the best life a child could ever have. She always fought tooth and nail to make sure that I was successful.”

Last summer, Brooke organized a brand-new idea: a kickball tournament to raise funds for the scholarship. The event went exceptionally well, she said.

“Last year’s tournament went amazingly,” she recalled. “Everybody had so much fun and we were able to fundraise so well. We were able to raise the amount that I’m able to offer those students.”

As a full-time college student, Brooke has been able to juggle her studies with being able to organize the second year of the big event.

“Without people like my mom, and the people at Long Beach High School, I wouldn’t be able to pursue my studies to be a physical education teacher,” she added. “People like them are the reason why I’m going to keep giving back until I can’t anymore.”

This year’s edition of the kickball tournament will take place July 15 at Lincoln Orens Middle School in Island Park. The event will contain refreshments from local small businesses, raffles and other entertainment.

Teams can consist of 8-12 players, and registration is available via a Google Form link on the scholarship’s Instagram page, @geri.e.yellin.scholarship.