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They're from rival sports teams and coming up with creative ways to take part in a workout challenge to raise money for Northern Westchester Hospital.
The #FoxesUp4Heroes funder is to help pay for supplies for healthcare workers to care for their novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.
It was organized by Fox Lane High School Director of Health, PE & Athletics Adam Lodewick along with coaches at the Mt. Kisco school.
His own workouts involve bench presses, pushups and squats while using his daughters for added weight. Since it began a few days ago the challenge caught fever with a handful more schools' coaches and athletes joining in on the fun.
But anyone can take part by either doing and posting a challenge or watching someone else's challenge then making a donation on the GoFundMe page if they wish.
One of the posts shows Lodewick doing pushups with a child on his back. Another is of a Fox Lane football player chest-pressing a couch. And a dazzler on Twitter is of a field hockey player dribbling a ball in slow motion.
Others from Fox Lane who took the challenge include lacrosse captain Jake Bazyk dancing in his basement and baseball coach Matt Foley doing shuttle runs while carrying big buckets of water.
By Friday, April 10, over $10,000, the original goal, but that has been set now for $15,000 thanks to the added participation.
"Our heroes are diving into uncharted waters and hitting grand slams for all of us; every day they show up to work," says a post by Clare on the GoFundeMe page.
“Some of our coaches were challenging their athletes to do things like stick tricks and pushups to keep them engaged with one another and to keep their spirits up,” Lodewick said, explaining how #FoxesUp4Heroes got started.
He and Fox Lane coaches Matt Hillis, Craig Henley, Matt Foley and Andrew Giuliano started brainstorming ways to engage all of the district’s student-athletes while doing something positive for the community.
“We were trying to think of a way we could do something for the workers at Northern Westchester Hospital who are sacrificing so much right in our backyard,” Lodewick said.
“That’s when we came up with the idea to challenge each other to do a creative at-home exercise to raise awareness about the importance of social and physical distancing. Once you do your workout, you nominate someone else to do a creative activity or exercise and use the hashtag #FoxesUp4Heroes.”
“We are hoping students and others, for that matter, learn that even during the toughest of times, we need to stick together, stay positive and help out whenever or wherever needed,” said Lodewick.
He emphasized how the challenge is not just a Bedford Central School District or Fox Lane effort but for anyone. "That idea was proven over the weekend as rival schools like Somers, Greeley, Byram Hills and Yorktown all joined the challenge under the hashtag #RivalsUnite4Heroes," the coach noted.
“We want people to know and understand the importance of staying home and being smart but that you can also still be a part of something. So many of our athletes, especially our seniors, are missing that feeling of being a part of a team. This is just one way they can stay connected and be a part of something. There are people out there, right in our backyard, risking their lives and if we have the means, let’s show them how much we appreciate them and what they are doing," Lodewick said.
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