_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________
HERALD
Wherever you are in life,
Youngsters teach kids soccer
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Vol. 36 No. 32
AUGUST 7 - 13, 2025
516.536.8100 314 Sunrise Highway,
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Rockville Centre, NY 115 70
1312208
Swimming for a cause
Teenagers take on hunger in the community just don’t know about the fact that there are so many people so nearby that are in desperate A new youth-led project is need of help.” Every Sunday during the tackling food insecurity in Rockville Centre with fresh Rockville Centre Farmers Marproduce and community out- ket’s season, from June to reach. Sharon’s Garden is the December, Sharon’s Garden latest effort supporting Sha- sets up a stand on the south side of Sunrise ron’s Pantry, with H i g h w ay a c r o s s local teens organizfrom the GMC dealing donations, coorer, where volundinating deliveries teers hand out fliers and raising awareand collect donaness one g rocery tions as well as probag at a time. duce from shoppers. The project, led Vo l u n t e e r s a l s o by local teens coordinate food Declan Taylor and p i ck u p s a n d u s e Ryan Cooke, has cash donations to quickly grown into purchase produce in a vital source of bulk at Costco. That fresh produce and RYAN CooKE food is delivered to funding for the pan- Co-founder, S h a ro n’s Pa n t r y, try — named for Sharon’s Garden based out of the Sharon Sheppard, Martin Luther King who co-founded it with Rena Riback in April 2020 Jr. Community Center, for dis— all while recruiting a new tribution to families in need. “We used to get maybe two generation of civic-minded vegetables, (and) now we have leaders. “We wanted to find a way to two six-foot tables filled with h ave t h e c o m m u n i t y f e e l produce,” Riback said of the involved and bridge the connec- weekly haul from the garden. The teens, along with other tion and build more understanding, while also helping volunteers from the communiother people who are in need,” ty, deliver fresh food to the panTaylor said. “A large part of the try twice a week, coordinating problem is that a lot of people Continued on page 13
By KElSIE RADZISKI
kradziski@liherald.com
I
Courtesy Mike Palitz
Finley palitz, 10, of Rockville Centre, competed in the u.S. Kids golf World Championship from July 31 to aug. 2 in north Carolina, showing off his golf skills.
Rockville Centre golfer competes on world stage By KElSIE RADZISKI kradziski@liherald.com
At just 10 years old, a young golfer from Rockville Centre is already making waves on the green, after competing in one of the biggest junior golf events in the world. A rising talent with seven years of experience, Finley Palitz began playing the sport at age three. His dad, Mike Palitz, first got him into the game years ago, and now he plays with both his parents. Now 10, Palitz said what he enjoys most about golf is “winning” — and that he golfs nearly every day to practice his craft. His favorite golfing memory so far is his first
hole-in-one, a feat he achieved this past April. This past weekend, Palitz competed in his first U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. The championship, held in Pinehurst, North Carolina, from Thursday through Saturday, brought together over 150 of the best kid golfers from ages five to 12 across the world. Palitz was one of four kids who qualified from New York and the only one from Long Island to qualify in his age group. “It was (for) the best kids in the world,” he said. “And I did good.” Out of all the elite junior golfers from around the globe, Palitz wound up tied for Continued on page 7
wanted to help foster a community of people who care about this stuff.