While only a freshman at Northport High School, Louis Acompora was already a highly touted lacrosse goalie. As the captain of the freshman team, he was being groomed to be the next star varsity goaltender for Northport, a lacrosse powerhouse at the high school level. On March 25, 2000, in his first high school game, tragedy struck. With his parents on the sidelines, he blocked what appeared to be a routine shot with his chest. He took a few steps and collapsed on the field. The coaches and trainers rushed out and after realizing Louis was not breathing they began to administer CPR. The paramedics arrived almost 15 minutes after Louis’ collapse. They attempted defibrillation but were too late. Louis passed away. He was 14 years old.

Louis’ parents, John and Karen Acompora came to realize his death could have been prevented if the school had owned a portable defibrillator. A defibrillator revives cardiac arrest victims with an electric shock to the chest. After Louis died, the Acomporas started a grassroots campaign to raise awareness among schools and other public institutions about the importance of owning Automated External Defibrillators (AED). A simple device that would have saved Louis’ life.

The Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation was founded to ensure that similar tragedies are prevented. The Foundation is committed to seeing an improvement in sports safety with a special focus on the placement of AEDs in all schools. Over the past four years, the Foundation has made tremendous strides. With numerous public appearances, including an interview on the Oprah Show in May 2001, the Acomporas have attracted national attention to the Foundation's mission.

http://www.la12.org/

Special Olympics New York serves 46,106 athletes with intellectual disabilities, providing them with year-round sports training and competition opportunities. In all, more than one million athletes around the world benefit from participation in Special Olympics.

No matter what your ability level, you can enjoy Special Olympics. No matter what your sport is - whether it's Basketball or Bocce or Bowling, or almost anything else - we've got you covered. Special Olympics New York organizes and runs approximately 400 competitions each year, and we never charge our athletes anything to participate.

Special Olympics means something different to everyone. Some of our athletes are most proud of the medals they've won. Others talk about the friends that they've made. Many athletes say that participating in Special Olympics has helped them become more confident, independent people.  

http://nyso.org/LongIsland/home.php