Town of Babylon Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez and Councilman Tom Donnelly recently thanked students from Robert Moses Middle School in North Babylon for their work collecting dozens of sneakers as part of Nike’s “Reuse-a-Shoe” effort, which recycles old sneakers to use for athletic surfaces across the country. The students from Mr. Christopher Brodmerkel's Environmental Recycling Club collected old sneakers from fellow students for one week and donated them to representatives from the Nike store in Deer Park. Deputy Supervisor Martinez and Councilman Donnelly thanked the students for their dedicated efforts and presented them with special Certificates of Appreciation.
This effort was taken by the students as part of the Town of Babylon Beautification Program’s Global Youth Service Day initiative, which is a worldwide celebration of community service and civic engagement. By taking part in this initiative, the students learned the environmental benefits of keeping sneakers out of our landfill - each sneaker takes 45 years to decompose. The students also learned that the sneakers will be recycled by Nike to manufacture basketball courts and playground surfaces for inner city kids.
Pictured with the students are Nike Representative Suyada Cabrera; Nike Representative; Councilman Donnelly; Assistant Principal Margaret Brierly; Assistant Principal Jeffrey Raymond; Deputy Supervisor Martinez; Club Advisor Mr. Christopher Brodmerkel; Town of Babylon Beautification Director Florence Findley; and Kristi Reynolds, Legislative Aide to New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre.
Students pictured are Kayla McFarlane, Alessandra Papaleo, Jason O'Keefe, Starrana Alexis, Kristen Cada, Jackie Sherrill, Anthony Bonilla, Nicolemarie Mastronardi, Shayna Lafrosse, Lorenzo Vargas, Emre Dorak, Matthew Chau, Jaden Smith, Justin Ripp, Chloe Jean-Charles, Brian Machuca, Julie Ren, David Chojnacki, and Ethan Fortaleza.