During the summer time, the James H. Vernon School Elementary School basketball courts are one of the favorite places for 13-year-old Matthew Byrne and his friends to play. Thursday, Aug. 28 was an extra special day at the courts as the Oyster Bay teenager and his friends participated in a two-on-two basketball tournament to support Birthday Wishes of Long Island. BWLI is an organization that brings birthday parties to children living in homeless shelters on Long Island.
Byrne got the idea for the charity event because he needed to perform a good deed as part of his Bar Mitzvah rite of passage.
“I like basketball and thought this would be a fun thing to do with my friends,” said Byrne. “We play at this park often and we hope to make this an annual tournament.”
There were 24 kids at the school who played in a two-on-two basketball tournament with both a winners and losers bracket and an elimination round. Each participant brought a new basketball to the tournament to be donated to the Birthday Wishes Foundation.
“I think it is a wonderful thing what these kids did,” said Byrne’s mother, Jill Byrne. “As a family we are very active with this organization and I think it is good because I think a lot of kids take their birthdays and all that comes with it for granted.”
There are 23 homeless shelters on Long Island that Birthday Wishes donates to. Included in a donation are goody bags, three to four gifts and a birthday cake for each individual child. Donations such as toys for younger kids can also be dropped off.
Birthday Wishes was originally started as a non-profit in Massachusetts by three mothers who were looking for volunteer work they could do with their children. The Long Island Chapter of Birthday Wishes was started in 2009 by Plainview resident Jamie Rapfogel who was looking to do philanthropic work in the community.
The competition was fierce on the courts, but in the end Byrne and his three friends, Connor Walsh, Thomas Catala and Thomas Milana from Cold Spring Harbor made it to the finals. Catala and Milana were crowned eventual champions of the tournament.
