"Save Your Brain" Donates Money for State-of-the-Art Helmets for Clarkstown High School South Football Team

Anthony Fiume and Brandon Drummond have not been out of high school very long but already they are giving back to their former district in a big way through their organization, "Save Your Brain."

The two young entrepreneurs donated $7,200 to the Clarkstown School District at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting. They had raised the funds specifically for the purpose of buying helmets designed to prevent concussions.

“We’re trying to teach young kids to better protect themselves,” said Fiume of New City. “We’ve raised enough to donate 30 helmets to Clarkstown South High School.”

Drummond of Nanuet said the helmets have a five star safety rating and more.

“They look really cool,” he said. “It’s safety, protection, looking cool at the same time.”

Drummond, a Penn State graduate with a degree in kinesiology, said he was applying to graduate school when he realized the educational materials about concussion awareness were boring. He spoke with Fiume, who majored in video production at Hofstra University about creating a video.

“The video turned into 'Save Your Brain',” said Drummond, 22 years old.

In March, they began selling wristbands with a heart symbol for “We love brain.”  Then they ramped up their fundraising effort and went out into the community. Between donations, almost 3,000 wristband sales and a contribution from Mike Aglialoro, president, and Dorie McMaster, vice president, of the they raised enough money to buy 30 Riddell Revolution Speed football helmets.

Fiume, 23, and Drummond said they have more work to do. They want to raise more money in order to equip the Clarkstown High School North team with the same helmets for the fall. They were invited by board member Diane Hoeneveld to speak at the West Nyack Rotary Club about their efforts.

Their web site, www.weheartbrain.com, is in development but links to a Facebook page with more information.

According to Drummond the Riddell helmets worn by NFL players are lightweight, designed to avoid overheating and have a shell meant to absorb and redirect impacts. The padding inside the helmet is inflatable for a customized fit and the facemask flips up in case of a head or neck injury.

Drummond summed up how he and Fiume feel about the helmet program. 

“It’s something we’re really happy to be able to put on the kids.”