Way to Go: Natalie Gramegna, Massapequa

Natalie Gramegna can be teaching music to children one day, working to coordinate a mock prom for senior citizens the next, and teaming with others to write a book for young cancer patients on yet another. Bottom line: For Gramegna, volunteering to help people is constant.

The Massapequa High School sophomore, who has logged more than 280 community service hours in the past few years, recently received a President's Volunteer Service Award for her various efforts.

Her top involvements, she said, are weekly cultural arts workshops at the district's Berner Middle School in which local children can learn everything from sports to Spanish. Gramegna is among student volunteers who assist teachers with class projects and lesson plans.

"I feel that children are a way for the community to grow," said Gramegna, 15. "It's really nice to see them learn."

Gramegna also is a member of the Massapequa Public Library's Teen Advisory Board and Book Buddies Program and, with other students, is writing a book of fiction tales for young cancer patients at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola.

She also has supplied homemade foods to events at St. William the Abbot Roman Catholic Church in Seaford and has assisted in the high school Key Club's food and coat drives.