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S E R V I N G TAY L OR , OL D F OR G E , MOOSIC & SURROUNDING AREAS TRIBOROBANNER.COM | MAY 30, 2019
An area dance studio will present its spring production this weekend | PAGE 3
Riverside High School named its prom king, queen and princess | PAGE 7
Lending a hand
Annual fair aids college-bound kids BY JOSH MCAULIFFE Special to the triboro banner
class. All told, it will fund 47 scholarships, with sponsorships coming from families, individuals, businessEvery year at this time, the Riverside faithful ably demonstrate what es and the Vikings Helping Vikings a proud, tight-knit bunch they are board itself. when it comes to assisting collegeYear in and year out, Vikings Helpbound district students. ing Vikings lives up to its motto of On Saturday, June 1, the annual “feeding the roots of the commuVikings Helping Vikings Festival nity.” Besides the festival, the group will take place at Riverside Veterans holds an annual golf tournament. Memorial Stadium, “The festival is alMain Street, Taylor, ways a great event, If you go from 10 a.m. to and we always hold What: annual Vikings helping 3 p.m. it the first Saturday Vikings Festival The family-friendof June,” said Chris When: Saturday, June 1, 10 ly event will include Koytek, Vikings a.m. to 3 p.m. a bake sale, a variHelping Vikings’ Where: riverside Veterans ety of foods (sausecretary and scholmemorial Stadium, main sage and peppers, arship chair. “We’ll Street, taylor haluski, hamburghave about 100 basDetails: General admission is ers and hotdogs, ket raffles there, free, with a $5 fee for the allwimpies and more), which are donated inclusive children’s area. For entertainment and by community more information on the event, visit the Vikings helping numerous basket members, teachers, Vikings Facebook page. raffles. For $5, kids club organizations. can gain entry to It’s overwhelming the all-inclusive the support we get.” children’s area, which will include The scholarship recipients will be bounce houses, a dunk tank, face honored at the festival, and they’ll painting and numerous games. also volunteer there as a service All funds raised at the festival will requirement. And, Vikings Helping help fund the Vikings Helping ViVikings will hand out its annual kings scholarships given out every Hero of Humanity service awards to year to graduating Riverside seniors. students and community members Over the past year, more than $35,000 who go above and beyond in their was raised for the 2019 graduating volunteerism. Vikings Helping Vikings started more than a decade ago, with the inaugural year netting $2,500 in scholarship money. “We’ve grown so much,” Koytek said. TS_CNG/TRIBORO/PAGES [T01] | 05/29/19
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Submitted photo
From left, first row: Peg Derenick, Buddy Derenick, Jody Oustrich and Chris Koytek. Second row: Toni Oustrich, Matt Robinson, Jared Godlewski, Nichole O’Malley and Craig Brown. Koytek got involved with the group in 2010, with the intention of establishing a scholarship in memory of her son, Brian, a Riverside grad who died in a motorcycle accident in 2004. She and the group’s six other board members oversee the operation. They’d like to get more people involved, and some day they hope to purchase a physical headquarters that could be used as a community gathering spot. “If you don’t have a headquarters, you can’t apply for any grants. We
have dreams we hope we can accomplish,” said Koytek, noting the group is currently working with 2004 Riverside graduate Matt Robinson to develop a website. For the moment, however the group is just hoping for another successful festival. “The kids will have a great time, you won’t spend a fortune, and you’re supporting a great cause,” Koytek said. “I’m really proud to be a part of it. I get out of it as much as I give to it. And Riverside is a great community.”