Playing for the hass and helping children who need it

By BARBARA POLICHETTI

Family and friends of Pilgrim High School Principal Gerald Habershaw want to make sure he is remembered for what he did best: helping his students overcome obstacles.

Habershaw, affectionately known as “Habs” by the school community, died of complications from Covid in November 2021, aged 57. Since then, the school’s PTSA has worked with his family, friends and colleagues to establish the Gerald Habershaw Memorial Scholarship Fund. Its mission is to provide financial assistance to students who have overcome challenges but persevered and are ready to move on to vocational school or college.

“This is the type of student that Mr. Habershaw would have cheered especially hard for as they walked across the stage on graduation day,” said mother Heather Smith Rodrigues, a member of the scholarship committee. “He just loved seeing his students succeed.”

First cornhole tournament

The scholarship committee relies on informal fundraisers and collects donations at Pilgrim sporting and recreational events. It is now ready to host its first official fundraiser and looks forward to the community’s support. Saturday, November 9th at Warwick FOP Lodge #7 at 95 Tanner Ave. held their first annual Gerald Habershaw Memorial Scholarship Fund Cornhole Tournament.

The group is seeking sponsors and encouraging the public to attend the fun event, which runs from 6 to 10 p.m. and includes a silent auction, food and a bar. (For those unfamiliar, cornhole is a recreational game – also called bag toss – in which players or teams take turns throwing bean bags onto a board with a hole in it. The goal is to score points by either throwing a bag place it on the board or stick it through the hole.)

“We want this to be a fun night where people play cornhole, but also we all get together and remember Gerry,” Smith Rodriquez said. Tickets are $30 per person and $60 per team and must be paid at the door and pre-registration is required.

Kerri Manson, a parent and member of the Pilgrim High PTSA, called the event a fitting way to honor and remember Habershaw. “He was serious when he needed to be, and he was fun,” she said. “We want to raise money for the scholarship but also have a nice time remembering Gerry.

“He always stood up for the children, especially the students who were going through difficult times,” she said. “Whatever challenges they went through, he had their back – that’s what made him so great.”

Habershaw, a father of four, had a long career in Warwick schools, starting as a special education teacher at Pilgrim High. He was named principal of Warwick Veterans Memorial High School and then principal of Pilgrim when the Veterans school closed.

His dedication to his students made him a popular administrator, and this isn’t the first time the school community has shown him strong support. Habershaw was placed on leave in 2021 due to a Covid outbreak after organizing a homecoming event for students to give them a sense of normality during a time of isolation caused by the pandemic. He became ill shortly afterwards, but was believed to be on the mend when he suddenly died.

We help children in difficult situations

Both Manson and Heather Smith Rodrigues said Habershaw helped their children when they got into difficult situations during their high school years and they would never forget the time he spent with them. “He was tough when he had to be and he got things done, but he also had a great sense of humor,” Manson said. “We want to make sure his memory stays alive.” Her memories of Habershaw include him diligently patrolling the high school hallways to make sure everything was running smoothly. He was also his students’ most enthusiastic – and sometimes loudest – supporter at school events. He was even known to inspire the cheerleading squad by doing cartwheels himself.

Habershaw’s daughter, Zoe Habershaw, said her father didn’t like the spotlight and would likely be humbled that a scholarship was created in his name. But he would be happy, she said, to know that his legacy would help seniors succeed after high school.

“I think one of the main things most people will remember him for is that he always stood up for the underdog,” she said.

She noted that the scholarship applications include a requirement that students write an essay about a time in their life when they had to overcome a difficulty. “He could be very much about tough love,” she recalls. “He told us how things were and always encouraged us to work hard. I think that resonated with many of his students.

“He wanted them all to succeed and overcome whatever circumstances they faced.”

To register for the tournament, go to People interested in making tax-deductible contributions to the scholarship fund can visit here