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Paul Savramis, At 66 Still the Artist at Heart – Part 2

Paul SavramisPaul Savramis, Art Inspired by Mothers Internationally Acclaimed Talent. Paul Savramis may be the founder of the Rising Stars Youth Foundations Basketball and Educational Platforms, but he is also the creative brains behind the non-profit marketing materials, logos and shirt designs.

In this follow up posting, Paul Savramis gets into more detail on how the addition of new RSYF directors of education, overall operations and a good right arm as his executive have given him the chance to be creative and pay homage to his late mother’s memory.

Having the luxury of some extra time and much less pressure at work day to day have allowed Savramis to revisit his early passions and do some artwork “on the side.”  

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Paul Savramis, At 66 Still the Artist at Heart – Part 1

Paul SavramisEarly training, and avid interest in art remain as a driving force in the life and work of Rising Stars Youth Foundation Founder and President Paul Savramis.

The demands and rigors of day to day may have changed somewhat for Rising Stars Youth Foundation Founder Paul Savramis but they certainly have not lessened.

We caught up with Paul at a recent Rising Stars event and the topic he wanted to discuss surprised us. Savramis was talking about creating new shirts, brochures, and website designs and how art, marketing, and design continue to play a big part of his daily life. “I can’t slow down, nor do I ever want to”, Savramis shared. “Purpose is everything! The day is totally different for me when it starts with a challenge or the prospect of a new project.”Paul Savramis

Savramis continued, “Having Danny (RSYF Executive Director) taking on the mundane day-to-day foundation work is a godsend! Dan is amazing in the way he has put together an infrastructure staff that takes care of every aspect of the foundation. We now have directors of basketball operations for boys and girls, educational specialists, and a full complement of departmental expertise that allows me to do what I love best- At my pace and my time frame.”

That love is to continue to serve as RSYF ambassador and President but to also now look at outreach and new program development. That effort alone has more than tripled new RSYF initiatives over the past two years and created a valuable pipeline for Rising Stars core and fundamental purpose- To Promote Education.       Continue reading →

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Paul Savramis: Rising Stars Youth Foundation Participates in Jr. NBA

Paul Savramis: Rising Stars Youth Foundation Participates in Jr. NBA

Rising Stars founder and President Paul Savramis is excited to announce that his organization was honored with an invitation to participate in the 2018 Jr. NBA tournament. Rising Stars’ 14U Elite travel team, in collaboration with Rising Stars 6th Boro Hoops, entered and won the Jr. NBA Regional tournament in July, cementing an entry as representatives of the North East in the Jr. NBA national tournament.

According to Paul Savramis, there were sixteen teams invited to attend in total with eight representing the US and eight international teams.

The Jr. NBA national championship tournament was held in Orlando, Florida.

The 2018 Jr. NBA Championship was a year in the making and the first of its kind. It brought together the very best in the game from around the world. For the inaugural event, the championship was sponsored by Gatorade Under Armour, Kaiser Permanente and of course the NBA.

The event, held at the Disney Sports Arena had more of a feel like an international festival than a tournament. The NBA housed the team, gave out uniforms and had top players from the league in attendance like Steph Curry and LeBron James giving free clinics and advice.

A real treat was having every game treated as an NBA one, televised on Fox 5 and the NBA network. Games were announced by former and current NBA stars. Everything about the experience was filled with the excitement of an NBA ALL STARS weekend.

Paul Savramis says the inclusion of Rising Stars in this event was made even more special by the partnership with 6th Boro Hoops. 6th Boro was organized by former Savramis pupil and Rising Stars alumni Nihad Muscovic. Muscovic, who Paul Savramis says is much like his former students Jay Williams and  Dan Gimpel started 6th Boro Hoops just after high school with the support of his former coaches from the Rising Stars Youth Foundation. Like Williams and Gimpel his goal was to ultimately return and work with Rising Stars.

The team from Rising Stars played well but was ultimately defeated by the team that won the final game. The return trip home was not filled with tears, however, as the group was able to use this experience of play to learn and grow, and that is what Paul Savramis and the Rising Stars Youth Foundation hopes is the outcome of each game, each event, and each school day.

About the Jr. NBA

Paul Savramis explains that the Jr. NBA is the official grassroots youth basketball program of the NBA. It is, remarkably, a free program open to all basketball leagues that cater to kids ages six through 14. The JR. NBA is sponsored by Under Armor, which provides funding for each team’s welcome kit. In addition, the parent company NBA IS 100% behind it.

Jr. NBA members have access to grants and funding (upon application approval) not available to non-member teams.

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2018 Rising Stars Youth Foundation Gala an Event to Remember, says Paul Savramis

Paul Savramis Gala Dinner 2018In 1996, Paul Savramis founded the Rising Stars Youth Foundation with one goal: To provide every child with an equal opportunity for success in life and to be their best. That was more than three decades ago. Today, his simple formula of utilizing a basketball program to reach and teach has morphed into a lifestyle for hundreds of boys and girls. Each year, RSYF hosts an annual dinner to honor these students and recognize the men, women, and businesses that help to make Rising Stars’ programs possible.

For the past seven years, the Gala has been hosted at the New York Athletic Club on Central Park. 2018 continued this tradition and introduced the most recent Man of the Year, Mr. Joe Feshbach. Mr. Feshbach joined an impressive fraternity of past men of the year. They include

MidOcean Partner CEO Ten Virtue, Mr. Thomas J. Quinlan, III, Chairman, President and CEO of LSC Communications, Mark Clouse, CEO Pinnacle Foods, Seth Waugh, Former CEO of Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs director of Alumni Mike Troy. All of these men have been honored for their belief and support of Rising Stars programs, but Mr. Feshbach was the first to have gone through the foundation with his son Josh from grades three through graduation of college (Brown University). His moving speech and personal perspective brought a special meaning and awareness to the event.

The Gala, which raises awareness of RSYF’s good work, is always a sold-out event and features Master of Ceremonies, Jay Williams. Williams is a former NBA pro and ESPN personality that is also an alumni of Rising Stars. Paul Savramis explains that Williams and his family have always been supportive of the program and like Mr. Feshbach have had the added perspective of being a part of the program since Jay was in 5th grade. But as Paul Savramis is quick to point out, the real stars of the event are always the kids.

In addition to honoring the Man of the Year and getting to enjoy Mr. William’s commentary throughout the evening, guests of the Gala get to see first-hand the impact RSYF has on their community through the stories, speeches, and testimonials of the actual RSYF kids and parents.

Paul Savramis explains that the Gala kicks off scholarship season, where deserving students are given the chance to attend one of the area’s best high schools to receive a needed private education. These kids, who have all shown academic prowess, community involvement, and athletic skill, are tomorrow’s leaders and role models for their brothers, sisters, and classmates today.

The Gala is not simply about financial assistance, says Paul Savramis. It helps to provide hope for some of NY’s most vulnerable adolescents.

For more information about RSYF, visit RisingStarsYouthFoundation.com.

Rising Stars 2018 Gala Video

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Paul Savramis: Rising Stars Youth Foundations Community Service Updates, March 2018

Paul SavramisMarch was a busy month for RSYF student athletes, says organization founder Paul Savramis. Here, Savramis offers updates on one of the most heartwarming service projects of the year.

Q: What event did student athletes participate in on March 25?

Paul Savramis: On March 25th, several of our Rising Stars students spent the day prepping meals for 80 families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides no-cost accommodations for families of terminally ill children. The Meals from the Heart Program was designed to offer a moment of respite for weary moms, dads, and siblings.

Q: Why are events like this important for students in the Rising Stars Youth Foundation program?

Paul Savramis: At RSYF, we put athletics second. The greater good of our community is always first. Service projects such as this offer our teens the opportunity to give back and to learn about the people of their community. It’s a way to teach responsibility and good stewardship.

Paul SavramisQ: What are the guidelines for the Meals from the Heart Program?

Paul Savramis: Participants must be at least 16 years of age. Groups are limited to no more than 12 people, making this an intimate and endearing project for the students who have the opportunity to serve. Each group gets to plan their own menu and prepare the food themselves meaning this is also an opportunity to brush up on or learn a valuable life skill: cooking.

Q: Can you offer any general information on the New Hyde Park Ronald McDonald House?

Paul Savramis: The RMH serves families of children staying in long-term care at the Cohen’s Children’s Hospital. Many of the families arrive after receiving a sudden and devastating medical diagnosis, often cancer. The home sits on the hospital campus and has offered accommodations for more than 30,000 families since opening in 1986.

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Paul Savramis 2018 Meet and Greet for Rising Stars

Paul SavramisPaul Savramis, founder of Rising Stars Youth Foundation, recently hosted the non-profit’s 2018 Meet and Greet for Rising Stars student athletes at Adelphi University. Savramis explained what this annual event entails and how Rising Stars scholarships have a lasting impact on the students, their families, and the community.

Q: What is the purpose of the Meet and Greet event?

Paul Savramis: The Meet and Greet is a yearly event that introduces the Rising Stars Scholarship recipients to the members of the board. It is a chance for these students and their families to meet the men and women behind the scenes of Rising Stars and for our benefactors to meet firsthand the lives they have touched through their generosity.

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Q&A with Paul Savramis | Beautiful Me Workshop

Paul SavramisOn a cold January night in New York, more than a dozen girls came together in a cell phone-free zone to talk about something important: each other. Paul Savramis, Rising Stars Youth Foundation founder, shares info on the Beautiful Me workshop in the following brief Q&A.

Q: What is Beautiful Me?

Paul Savramis: Beautiful Me is a self-esteem workshop we put on regularly for the girls in our youth programs. Essentially, it is a night that allows our girls’ teams to interact with each other and learn to appreciate their teammates’ positive qualities beyond the free throw.

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Rising Stars Youth Foundation Founder Paul Savramis Announces Website Launch

In early 2018, Rising Stars made an important change to its website and overall future outlook.. Here, Rising Stars Founder and President Paul Savramis explains the launch of Rising Stars Youth Foundation.com. and the organizations “new” look.

Q: What does the addition of the term “Youth Foundation” mean for Rising Stars?

Paul Savramis: Our title as Rising Stars Inc. never truly defined the scope of our work nor was it a clear presentation of what we were. There were not many Rising Stars in 1996 and we were the only ones associated with youth sports and education. As the years past many others began using the name in one form or another and it began to really get confusing.

We actually developed a site “About Rising Stars Inc.” that helped to separate and better describe our identity and the two working models ..athletics and academics that were at the core of Rising Stars..

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Paul Savramis and Rising Stars Host College Night

September was a busy month for parents, teachers, and students getting back into the swing of things for the 2017/2018 school year. Paul Savramis, founder of Rising Stars, reports that despite tedious schedules, there was a full house at the organization’s recent college night. Savramis offers a few details below.

Q: What was the main topic of discussion at the event?

Paul Savramis: Pinnacle Consultants, the group that led our seminar, focused on applications for college. Many hopeful college students and their families find that process confusing or have trouble understanding what documents are required. Pinnacle walked them through the admissions process, thereby giving our student athletes the confidence (and tools) to move forward.

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Paul Savramis Opens Up About Rising Stars’ Recent Volunteer Project

Paul SavramisRecently a handful of Rising Star student athletes spent the evening volunteering with New York’s Homeless Bus, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food and other basic necessities for the area’s homeless population. Rising Star’s founder Paul Savramis says having the opportunity to see the long lines of men, women, and children waiting for food and supplies was a meaningful experience to the young volunteers.

Q: What is the Homeless Bus?

Paul Savramis: The Homeless Bus was founded in 1992 by Director Mark Landgrebe and his wife Anna after the couple attended a seminar that introduce them to a program in Hawaii that fed homeless people during the holidays. Today, the Homeless Bus serves a warm meal and provides essentials such as socks and personal sized toiletries to New York City’s homeless population.

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