One small step. That’s how change starts. In the case of Scott Voulgaris, an eight-grade student at Marymount of Santa Barbara, the foot taking that step is wearing a sock, a special sock — a Team-Hydro-Nike-Elite crew sock to be exact.
Every foot of every member on Voulgaris’ undefeated school basketball team is wearing the same special sock. The entire Marymount boys’ varsity basketball team is wearing the socks in support of Voulgaris’ efforts to fight hydrocephalus, a condition that has plagued his younger brother Kyle since he was 2 years old.
Hydrocephalus causes buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, creating pressure against the skull. The condition can damage or destroy brain tissue and can be life-threatening. Kyle Voulgaris has a shunt tube surgically placed in his brain that allows the excess fluid to travel to his abdomen, where it can be absorbed.
His brother started his nonprofit in early 2011 and has created a Web site to sell the personalized Nike socks to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for research and a cure, and 100 percent of the profits from the sale of the socks go to TeamHydro.org to find a cure for hydrocephalus.
Scott Voulgaris spoke at a recent Marymount lunch at the Coral Casino about his project. Lyn Shirvanian, head of Marymount’s middle school, further explained how Marymount has gotten behind Voulgaris’ efforts by helping him develop and implement his action plan.
“When a Marymount student has an interest or a passion about something, we figure out a way to help that student further that interest,” Shirvanian said. “Doing this is a part of the customized and focused education at Marymount. We nurture dreams and a ‘can-do’ spirit in our students.
The brothers’ can-do spirits are contagious, as can be seen when watching this year’s varsity basketball team on the court. And last summer, Kyle Voulgaris, a Marymount fifth-grader, showed a toughness and can-do attitude when he braved the frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay to compete in the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim as a member of Team Hydro. The youngest member of the team, he raised $5,000 to help find a cure for hydrocephalus from his 1.5-mile swim.
Asked if swimming helps him deal with his condition, he replied, “I don’t really know if it really helps me, but it definitely helps me to be happy.”
“I had this idea of selling socks to help find a cure for hydrocephalus,” Scott Voulgaris said. “It tied together my love of basketball and sports and wanting to do something about hydrocephalus. I can’t believe all the support I have gotten since I started. It means a lot that the basketball team is wearing the socks. Marymount has been great at helping me.”
The public can take one small step to fight hydrocephalus, too, by visiting Voulgaris’ Web site. Team-Hydro-Nike-Elite crew socks are available exclusively on FreshSwagg.com for $24.99.
“Order them for yourself or order them for your team,” Voulgaris said.
— Molly Seguel is the director of admissions for Marymount of Santa Barbara.
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