Salt Point Center received a donation of 20 used volleyballs from Downstate Juniors Volleyball Club that will be used in gym classes and in the center’s positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) volleyball activity.
David Felipe, a teacher at SPC and a volleyball enthusiast, noticed the school did not have many volleyballs and the ones they had were not in good shape. He reached out to Downstate Juniors, which is based in Peekskill and uses Gold’s Gym in LaGrange as one of its training facilities. He asked if the club may donate any volleyballs it was no longer using, and the club’s board approved this.
“They gave us 20 volleyballs,” he said. “I was expecting five or six. I was really excited they gave us so many.”
David and his wife, Kelly, offer volleyball as an activity each week during PBIS.
“They love it,” said David. “There are only 10 slots and every week those 10 slots are one of the first being filled up of all the choices they have throughout the whole building. We try to open the opportunity up to everybody and new kids come every week. Once everybody has come, they’ll come back and join again. 
“I just love being able to bring my love and passion for volleyball here to SPC and see the smiles on the kids’ faces.”
Kelly, also a teacher at SPC, agrees.
“I really hope they truly find a love for volleyball, just because it’s a true love of mine and I want to share it with them,” she said. “It comes through in how I teach it because I’m super excited about it and they in turn get excited about it as well. It’s really been a nice experience.”
Xander, a fifth grader at SPC, was enjoying volleyball with friends and staff in the gymnasium one afternoon.
“I have friends playing and it’s fun,” he said.