'Heart Of A Giant' Voting Includes Rumson-Fair Haven Nominee

RUMSON, NJ — Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s Shane Sullivan learned firsthand of the need for support for childhood cancer victims when his own cousin faced the illness.

Now Sullivan, of Rumson, has been nominated for USA Football’s Heart of a Giant Award, presented by Hospital for Special Surgery and the New York Giants.

And he was praised by his coach for his support of Infinite Love for Kids Fighting Cancer, based in Middletown.

Now in its 10th year, the Heart of a Giant program announced this series of nominees.

"These Tri-State area high school football players, mascots and team managers have all been nominated for the award by their coaches for their commitment, teamwork, will, character and and dedication," the organization said.

And Shane Sullivan seems to certainly fit the bill, according to his coach.

In his nomination, Coach Jeremy Schulte said "Shane has consistently shown a high character level since his freshman year of high school. Since then, Shane has worked tirelessly as a three-sport athlete at a competitive school, which recently ranked second in the state in overall athletics.

"Shane has also remained dedicated to his school work, maintaining a 3.4 GPA in a rigorous academic setting. Even while doing all of this, Shane has found time to volunteer with an organization very close to his heart," he said.

And Shane Sullivan is hoping to support an organization that helps young people who have cancer, Infinite Love for Kids Fighting Cancer.

The coach recalled that "I was approached by Shane in the summertime and he asked if we as a team could do something to honor this month as a means of giving back to a local charity, Infinite Love for Kids Fighting Cancer, that helped his little cousin (now five-years cancer free) during her two times fight against Wilms tumor.

"Infinite Love is a local, 100 percent volunteer-run, 501c3 foundation that provides research grants to our country’s leading hospitals as well as prides itself in helping childhood cancer families both financially and emotionally. Shane has worked with Infinite Love and as of today’s date, has helped raise over $6,000 in a short amount of time," the coach said.

He said that "Grit, compassion, and dedication are all characteristics coaches love to see in their athletes, and Shane continues to display all of the characteristics. We are incredibly proud of Shane and feel that he exemplifies everything the Heart of a Giant represents."

There are nine other nominees from elsewhere in New Jersey and New York states. Sullivan is the only Central Jersey candidate.

The voting period for these nominees is now open until Sunday, Oct. 22, at 11:59 p.m., with the final vote tally determining who will be named the weekly group’s finalist.

The link to vote for the nominee is here.

At the end of the six-week voting process, six finalists and five wild card finalists will be named, for a total of 11 finalist honorees, according to the organization.

Each finalist will receive $1,000 grant for their high school’s football program, with the grand prize winner’s school getting an additional $9,000 equipment grant.

The grand prize winner and his coach will be honored on the field at a future New York Giants game this season. The grand prize winner will be selected based on video submissions stating why they have the Heart of a Giant, the organization says.

For more information on the program, click here.