Paul Savramis

Paul Savramis Praises the Rising Stars / Greater South Bay YMCA Outreach Program on Long Island

In the fall of 2016, the Rising Stars Youth Foundation  launched a pilot program to deal with the many challenges facing schools on Long Island’s Greater South Bay area. Rising Stars founder and community outreach director Paul Savramis credits the cooperation of local leaders and applauds the GSB YMCA for the programs incredible  success in its first year.

Gang violence in the Great South Bay area of Long Island is a problem that has attracted national attention and special visits from the president of the United States.

It’s a problem that touches children as young as 10 years old and stays with them throughout a lifetime. In cooperation with the Great South Bay YMCA, Rising Stars and Paul Savramis initiated the area’s first afterschool programs that combined academic social and community service support with a national basketball program. The program, which also offers children membership in the YMCA and access to the Rising Stars’ academic scholarship pool, is the flagship program for all of Rising Stars Community Outreach Initiatives. Savramis explains that all children enrolled in the program are required to improve school attendance, perform community service projects, and improve their overall GPAs to remain in the programs.

Rising Stars Founder Paul Savramis Reveals Secrets of Success of YMCA and other Collaborations

When Paul Savramis first introduced Positive Alternatives for Youth to New York's Community board 7 (P.A.Y 7) back in the late 1970s, he had a singular goal: to improve the lives of student athletes and build better community programs for youth. Today, he continues that dream with the Rising Stars Youth Foundation and his vision of programs for youth has grown its reach further than Savramis ever imaged. Here, Savramis discusses the non-profit’s latest initiative and how collaborations with like-minded foundations in the community like the YMCAs of Long Island have helped the Rising Stars mission.

Q: When did Rising Stars first establish a partnership with the Greater South Bay YMCA?

Paul Savramis: Back in October 2016. After numerous meetings with community leaders for the need of additional after school programs for youth and in collaboration with the Great South Bay YMCA, we launched our initial program in the area with 20 boys from the Greater South Bay Long Island areas of Brentwood, Bayshore, Amityville, and Islip.

Rising Stars Founder Paul Savramis Leads Student Athletes in Relaxation Techniques

Paul Savramis is known for bringing innovative programs to the students in the Rising Stars family. Recently, the non-profit’s girls basketball team participated in a program called “Get in the Zone.” Get in the Zone teaches relaxation techniques to help with concentration and focus both on and off the court.

Q: What is “straw breath?”

Paul Savramis: Straw breath is a breathing technique used by some of the world’s most enduring athletes, including Lebron James. It is achieved by slowly breathing in through the nose and exhaling through a small opening (the size of a drinking straw) through the lips for approximately 15 seconds. Repeated up to five times, straw breath is an exceptional way to naturally mitigate stress and anxiety.

Q: Why are teaching relaxation mechanisms such as this so important?

Paul Savramis: Children today are under more stress than any previous generation. Between pressures at home and school, widespread access to technology, and temptations to use drugs and alcohol, children need to learn how to deal with their emotions. Breathing exercises have been used across the nation to help students manage anxiety before exams and college entrance tests.

Q: Is it important to teach team building skills off the court?

Paul Savramis: Absolutely, and that’s one thing we focus on in the Get in the Zone program, which was led by Youth Empowerment Seminar instructor Juan Mosquera. During the program, our student athletes were given the opportunity to participate in team building exercises and experiences to help increase their self-awareness and communication skills.

Q: What is the Youth Empowerment Seminar?

Paul Savramis: The YES! Program is a school-sponsored program that helps promote healthy minds and bodies. The program provides practical tools and life skills to help adolescents from all walks of life manage stress and emotions. Its primary focus is on targeted breathing techniques, stretching exercise, and conflict resolution.

 

Paul Savramis Discusses Rising Stars Newest Partnership

South Shore’s popular and hugely successful Open Season basketball program is becoming part of the Rising Stars family. Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis opens up about Open Season and similar grassroots programs joining Rising Stars in the following interview excerpt.

Q: Everyone is talking about this new merger and your recent outreach efforts – how did it all come about?

Paul Savramis: We had been looking for new areas in which there was a need for what we offer to expand and the Great South Bay was a perfect target area. Recent gang violence and enrollment of children into gangs at the elementary level had community leaders up in arms and resulted in a invitation for us to expand our team and academic support programs there,
Once we established that, the Open Season teams came on our radar.
We knew Open Season was a program that dealt with very young players and that their coaches and managers had been approached numerous times but they had rejected every offer. Finally, we decided it was worth a shot to see what it was all about and find out why. As it turned out, our mission and values aligned really well with what they (Open Season) were looking for the kids off the court and things just fell into place.

Q: What does this new partnership mean for current Open Season players?

Paul Savramis: It’s going to be very exciting for the Open Season teams as Rising Stars brings years of experience, contacts with other organizations, relationships with professional basketball players, and, most importantly, an educational aspect. Rising Stars has always placed student athletes’ education first and foremost. The best thing they liked is that Rising Stars is not looking to take away or change any of the many positive things they have accomplished.
All we will look to do is add.We will provide scholarships and other academic services.

Paul Savramis: Rising Stars Math & Magic a Hit with Students

Math isn’t everyone’s favorite subject, according to educator and Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis. However, it seems one outstanding Rising Stars volunteer has figured out a way to magically compel students to power through even the toughest of equations.

Seth Rosen, a longtime friend to the Rising Stars youth basketball program, is one of the area’s leading advocates of improving America’s math skills. And, as far as Paul Savramis and the 6th and 7th grade Bayshore and Queens Teams are concerned, Seth has at least one trick up his sleeve to advances his cause.

Seth is the founder of the Math & Magic program at Rising Stars. Unlike traditional tutoring, Seth incorporates magic and mystery and to his lesson plan. While it might seem like fun and games, Paul Savramis reports there have been a host of practical and tangible benefits arising from his sessions. At least half a dozen Rising Star’s participants have enrolled in the Math & Magic program. These young student athletes now have the tools to look at math with eyes full of wonder and curiosity instead of a heart full of dread and trepidation.

Paul Savramis on Grades and Games

                                                                                                      Head Coach, Dan Gimpel with 2016 Senior Team

Paul Savramis is the founder of the nationally-acclaimed youth foundation Rising Stars. In this brief discussion, Savramis explains why Rising Stars is much more than an after-school basketball program.

Q: What are the core values of Rising Stars?

Paul Savramis: Our main focus has always been on building a solid foundation for the future, both on and off the court. We use basketball as a tool to give our students energy and hope; with each win and in each accomplishment, they realize they can do more for themselves. The confidence earned from these on-the-court victories seeps over into their schoolwork. That’s why we have so many college-bound players each year.

Q: Rising Stars works with a lot of inner city students. Why is bringing these kids together so important?

Paul Savramis:  Many of our student athletes have lived through numerous social and economic disadvantages. They are rivals on the street. They don’t trust anyone. When we get these guys and girls together, playing basketball and working toward common goals, we build a whole person. Our goal is to lay the groundwork these students need to make crucial decisions for themselves as they become the next generation of adults.

Rising Stars Co-Founder Paul Savramis Promotes Empowerment Workshop for Girls

Young women have so many obstacles in their path as they try to define “beauty,” says Paul Savramis, co-founder of Rising Stars Foundation. Airbrushed magazine covers and other altered realities make it difficult to know what real beauty looks like, or that it comes from within. Recently, Rising Stars hosted “Beautiful Me,” a workshop for girls aged 10 to 17 to help them discover what is really beautiful about themselves. Here, Savramis addresses the issue and explains the program.

Q: How did the participants define beauty of the beginning of the program versus the end?

Paul Savramis: We asked over 60 female student-athletes from early adolescence through the age of 17 to describe beauty. At first, names of celebrities were tossed around, and not much else. However, once these young ladies were offered a different perspective, they began to understand the value of their own unique looks and personalities. At the end, each girl had a list of beautiful things about themselves to reflect upon.

Q & A with Paul Savramis | Rising Stars Give Back

Rising Stars provides at-risk youth a valuable opportunity to receive a quality private education and build character through participation in team sports. The non-profit organization requires that students maintain high academic standards and give back to the community through numerous volunteer opportunities during the year. Here, Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis discusses some of these opportunities.

Q: Why does Rising Stars require that scholarship recipients participate in volunteer programs? 

Paul Savramis: We believe that all children deserve their best chance at success. We do this by offering full and partial scholarships to boys in the Long Island area to attend private school. In return, our student athletes must, in a sense, repay the community by serving various organizations.

Paul Savramis Talks About Rising Star Alumni and Former Student Jay Williams

Jay Williams is a two time college all american,national champion and  former professional basketball player ( 2nd overall pick just after Yao Ming in the 2002 NBA Draft.) His career was promising, his future bright. But fate intervened. In this retrospective, Paul Savramis discusses the remarkable spirit of the former Rising Stars student athlete.

Q: How do you know Jay Williams?

Paul Savramis: Jay was one of my most promising student athletes in high school. We grew very close as he matured into a young man. In my opinion not only was Jay unquestionably one of the best point guards in college basketball history but also one of the best rounded students in college . Though he no longer plays, Jay is now among the top basketball analysts at ESPN and Rising Stars’ Goodwill Ambassador.

Q: Why did you encourage Williams to finish college instead of going directly into the NBA?

Paul Savramis: Jay was offered the chance to leave Duke after winning a national championship his sophomore year as the number one pick in the NBA draft. As proud as I and his parents were of his accomplishments on the court, we all agreed that Jay’s basketball skills were rivaled only by his academic prowess. We all agreed that professional  basketball could wait one more year. He proved that was the right decision when he earned a degree from the University in just three years, which for Duke is a highly unusual feat. Today that accomplishment off the court is as regarded as those he has made on it.

Hearts & Hoops | Paul Savramis

Rising Stars student athletes flexed their giving muscles at Rising Stars’ Hearts & Hoops event on December 14, 2015, reports Paul Savramis.

December is a busy month for most, says Savramis. But that didn’t stop more than 100 of Rising Stars’ student athletes and their families from taking the time to give back this holiday season. On December 14, 2015 Rising Stars hosted Hearts & Hoops, a one night event that benefited five different organizations.

According to Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis, the night was filled with laughter, tears, and hope for the New Year as students decorated cards for homebound seniors, wrapped gifts for underprivileged kids, and learned
about the soldiers who’d be spending this Christmas away from their loved ones. Hearts & Hoops volunteers decorated cookies for families with children receiving medical care at the Ronald McDonald House and dropped off over 100 coats for men, women, and children for NY CARES.