Ducks celebrate TD Bank “Take a Duck to Class” contest winner
(Fort Salonga, N.Y., Feb. 9, 2018) – On Friday, the Long Island Ducks paid a visit to Fort Salonga Elementary School to celebrate Victoria Rice, a winner of TD Bank’s “Take a Duck to Class” essay contest. The kindergarten student wrote about her triplet sister, Cecilia, and why she was Victoria’s “hero in the community”.
CLICK HERE to check out our Facebook photo album from the event
“Cecilia has hydrocephalus and epilepsy,” she wrote in her essay. “She has had three brain surgeries and goes to the hospital a lot for seizures. She is very brave and strong.”
All of the school’s kindergarten students attended a special assembly in Victoria’s honor. After opening remarks and applause for the winner, her essay was read aloud to all in attendance. Next, she received a Visa gift card for her efforts from Eric Fishon, TD Bank Vice President of U.S. Field Marketing & Strategy and a Fort Salonga Elementary School alum, as well as Donna Pesce, TD Bank Northport Store Manager.
After Long Island Ducks mascot, QuackerJack, was introduced to the students, representatives from Cohen Children’s Medical Center addressed the kids. Victoria noted that the doctors there “are also heroes because they keep [Cecilia] healthy.” Marketing Manager Laurie Locastro and Development Manager Victoria Loachino thanked Victoria for thinking of them when writing her essay and read a special message from Cecilia’s Neurologist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.
“We are so pleased to have the opportunity to care for children like Cecilia with epilepsy,” noted Dr. Joseph Maytal. “Cohen Children’s is the only level 4 epilepsy center on Long Island, which means that children are receiving state-of-the-art care for epilepsy and seizure disorders right here in their backyard. It is our great privilege to be recognized for this work here today by the Long Island Ducks and Fort Salonga Elementary School. Thank you.”
The special school visit ended with a trip to Victoria’s classroom. There, she and her classmates received an autograph session with QuackerJack and took photos. In addition, each student received an exclusive gift bag, courtesy of TD Bank.
TD Bank “Take a Duck to Class” contestants were able fill out applications on LIDucks.com last fall and submit an essay of 250 words or less on the theme “Who is a hero in your community and why?” Four lucky winners were selected from an entry pool that included thousands of essays. Each winner receives an hour-long visit to their school from QuackerJack and the Ducks as well as a Visa gift card from TD Bank.
The following are the other winners in this year’s TD Bank “Take a Duck to Class” essay contest:
Jacob Rubbo – Fifth Grade – Tamarac Elementary School (School visit on March 6)
Megan Heffernan – Third Grade – Fifth Avenue Elementary School (Visit took place on January 12)
Jeremy Romero Jaramillo – Second Grade – Flower Hill School (Visit took place on January 22)
The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Bethpage Ballpark. For further information, call (631) 940-DUCK or visit www.liducks.com.
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