Police and Firefighters Take on Teachers in Charity Basketball Game

The Port Washington and Sands Points Police departments, Port Washington Fire Department, and Port Washington teachers and staff gave up an hour of sweat and hard-playing basketball Friday night in exchange for a worthy cause.

The town’s annual charity basketball game took place at Paul D. Schreiber High School, where a first-year Port Washington teachers’ team faced off against a unified police and fire department team. The newbie teachers took their first win in a close game, defeating the police and fire departments 51 to 47.

But the real winner was Autism Speaks.

The charity basketball game has been held for six years. “Every year, the principals of Port Washington select a charity for the year,” said Weber Middle School Principal Marilyn Rodahan. 

For a few years, the district raised money to buy a $250,000 mobile medical van for the Children’s Health Fund. Last year, the district raised more than $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity. Before the basketball game started on Friday night, Rodahan reported that the district had already raised more than $10,000 for Autism Speaks.

Port students were the inspiration for this year’s charity. For a project in which students had to write about someone they admired, a student at Weber Middle School wrote about Cindy Wittel, who has a child with autism in the school district, Rodahan said.

There were 12 or 13 Weber students who volunteered throughout the year to play and socialize with Wittel’s child, Rodahan continued. But “they wanted to do more” to raise awareness about autism, she pointed out.

“Many of us have students in our schools who have autism. We all want to learn more,” she said. “Our goal is to give children an opportunity to be leaders and see they can make positive changes in this world.

“In Port Washington, we really emphasize service learning and helping kids to see how fortunate we are to help those less fortunate,” Rodahan added.

The spirit of giving was evident at the basketball game.

“It’s good for the community to see everybody working together, as we always do” said Port Washington Fire Department 1st Assistant Chief Ray Ryan.

While the game is for a good cause and all in good fun, there is a sense of heated competition each year.

“It’s very competitive,” laughed Detective Anthony Guzzello, who is the district’s School Resource Officer (SRO) and liaison to the police department. Guzzello is also a member of Protection Engine Company No. 1.

For the past five years, the fire and police departments faced off and, traditionally, the fire department beat the police department, Guzzello said. “As long as we raise money,” the game is always fun, he added.

South Salem Elementary School PEP (Port Enrichment Program) teacher Regina McLean said she was having fun playing in the basketball game. “We’re here to help raise money for autism,” she said with a smile, adding that it was nice to be among her colleagues, as well.