Lenape High School senior Nick Maricondi was recently presented with the Lenape Volunteer Service Award.
According to Lenape High School principal Tony Cattani, there was never a doubt.
“Nick is a wonderful young man,” Cattani said. “He exemplifies what a student volunteer should be.”
Cattani presented Maricondi the award by surprising him in homeroom with balloons and the certificate.
“I cannot encapsulate all that Nick has accomplished in his time here,” Cattani said.
Maricondi is an executive board member of the student council and through that has had the opportunity to work on a lot of different projects and fundraisers. He has been key in helping coordinate the two blood drives Lenape hosts. A big focus for him and the student council has been helping freshmen adapt to high school life.
“We do tours for the incoming freshmen. We try to spend time with them so the transition is easier,” Maricondi said.
In addition to existing fundraisers, Maricondi was happy to bring back an event that had not happened in awhile.
“This year was the first time I believe in seven years that we held our version of the Wing Bowl which I was excited about. I competed as well, but didn’t do too hot,” Maricondi said laughing. Despite not being a winner, he said it was a tradition he hopes continues. “It was a lot of fun and we had a good number of students compete.”
But there was one charity that caught his eye even before he was a Lenape student. Maricondi’s older brother, Lou, a Lenape graduate in 2010, had gone on trips with the organization Give Kids the World while in high school. Nick wanted to do the same once he got to Lenape.
“I saw him go on this trip and just thought what he did and what they do as an organization was so cool,” Maricondi said. “I knew that when I got to Lenape I would work to go on the trip, too.”
Give Kids the World is a non-profit organization based in Kissimmee, Fla., that provides trips for kids with life-threatening illnesses. Accommodations at the Give Kids the World village, meals, as well as admission tickets to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and other attractions are given to families for the week. To date, GKTW has brought more than 120,000 children and their families to the resort for their dream vacation.
While in Florida, Maricondi and other students from Lenape served breakfast and dinner to the families at the GKTW resort. In addition to serving meals, he took pictures as well as some arcade time with the kids.
Maricondi hopes to make it back to the GKTW village but not with a school; next time he hopes it will be with his mom and dad.
“They’ve paid for trips there for my older brother and for me. To get to go with them so they can see it for themselves would be awesome.”
Maricondi plans to continue volunteering while attending Rider.
“I’m a big believer in giving back to the community you’re in,” he said.
For more information about Give Kids the World http://www.gktw.org/
