IN THIS ISSUE
Generous Support From groceries to furniture Photos & story on p. 2
Kicks for Kids Former Little Brother starts the holidays early for our Littles Story on page 3
Annual Fund This year offers more ways than ever to support the BBBSLI mission Details on page 3
big news winter 2012 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
A publication of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island
Sandy Takes Its Toll on Big Brothers Big Sisters
The devastation to Long Island’s families, businesses and landscape after Super Storm Sandy remains. BBBSLI unfortunately witnessed the devastation firsthand- from the partial collapse of our building in Islandia, to the losses and needs of our BBBSLI families and staff. Sandy’s strong wind gusts ripped one-third of the roof off the Donation Center and knocked over the building’s cinder block walls, leaving a large pile of rubble and thousands of pounds of donations deemed unusable. In the weeks that followed Sandy, BBBSLI was fortunate to receive the support of our national agency, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America as well as many agencies across the country and in Canada.
Furnishings, Renarts and Uncle Giuseppe’s (in partnership with NBTY and Long Island Cares) came through to provide invaluable support and donations for our local families in need. Our friends at BBBSLI of Rochester even sent a care package filled with goodies and words of encouragement for staff, and a local donor provided a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings for a family in need. “We are still here,” said Susan Samaroo, Chief Operating Officer of BBBSLI . “This storm will not compromise the quality of what we do for our children and their families. It is with the continued support of the community that we will all forge on and come back even stronger.” See page 2 for ways that you can directly and positively impact BBBSLI and our families in need.
Here on Long Island, Stop and Shop of Levittown, Safavieh Home Happy Holidays! winter 2012 bbbsli.org
2012 Presidential Gala BBBSLI shared that ‘Impossible Doesn’t Exist’ with over 400 guests at OUR 14th Annual Presidential Gala on October 4th at the Crest Hollow Country Club. The event raised $275,000 for BBBSLI and honored ‘Woman and Men of the Year’ Sandra Capek-O’Grady, Michael Brown, and Steven Goodman. The evening was led by Master of Ceremonies Jed Morey, CEO of the Morey Organization, and featured an opening performance by 15 members of Hofstra’s elite Sigma’Capella group. Guest speaker Angela Albelo, originally of Columbia and a proud single-mother of two Littles, spoke of how BBBSLI was able to bring joy back into their lives by matching both of her boys with a mentor. “I came to BBBSLI because I have no family here and no one to care,” said Angela. “I feel like they are my family. Big Brothers Big Sisters put quality people in our lives, our “Bigs” are the right people for my sons.”
Capital One Bank Supports Sandy Recovery Capital One Bank, as part of the company’s broader commitment to support Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, presented BBBSLI with a capital grant of $10,000 towards the rebuilding of the Donation Center in Islandia after its partial collapse during the storm. “We’re committed to helping our community partners on Long Island like BBBSLI recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy,” said Andrew Corrado, Long Island Market President, Capital One Bank. “Investing in rebuilding BBBSLI’s warehouse is particularly meaningful because it will ultimately help make a difference in children’s lives across Long Island.”
$50,000 of Brand New Furniture from Safavieh After Sandy High-end furniture retailer Safavieh provided four of our families impacted by Sandy with brand new furniture totalling $50,000. On November 26, our BBBSLI drivers acted as movers, delivering the furniture directly to the homes of our families from the Rockaways to Shirley. “We are happy to help BBBSLI families,” said Michael Yaraghi, President of Safavieh Home Furnishings at Safavieh’s Port Washington Warehouse. “We hope this furniture will provide some comfort by helping them to furnish their homes after the devastation.” Photo below: Safavieh President Michael Yaraghi with our drivers Aquilino, Hector, Stuart and Anthony
How You Can Help! Your support will directly benefit our agency and families in Nassau and Suffolk Counties who have children in our mentoring program. Here are a few ideas on how you can make a big difference: * Text BIG to 80100 to make a $5 donation. Text messaging rates may apply. * Donate clothing at any of our clothing bins throughout Long Island. * Donate supermarket or Home Depot cards. We will make sure to get these into the hands of families in our agency who are currently rebuilding their homes after Sandy took it’s toll. * Financial support is always welcome! Simply select ‘Hurricane Sandy Recovery’ from the dropdown on our donate page. winter 2012 bbbsli.org p2
Renarts Footwear Hosts ‘Kicks for Kids’
The 30 year-old Long Island based footwear retailer Renarts hosted ‘Kicks for Kids’, benefitting our Littles on November 28th. Each Little was fitted for a brand new pair of sneakers to take home. Chase Ceparano, Project Manager of Renarts and creator of the event, is a former Little Brother himself. “It was a pleasure to work alongside BBBS in an event with my team here at Renarts,” said Chase. “As a former “Little” myself, the opportunity to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they were outfitted with free footwear was incredibly rewarding and an experience I’ll always treasure.” Throughout the evening, Littles expressed their appreciation with heartfelt “wows” when sneakers were brought out. Accompanied by their Big Brothers or Big Sisters, Littles reacted to the new shoes by striking poses in front of mirrors, busting out dance moves and sprinting the length of the store. Through ‘Kicks for Kids’, Renarts Footwear donated a total of 39 brand new pairs of sneakers for BBBSLI Littles, and they want to do more, said Chase. “All of us at Renarts are looking forward to working with Big Brothers Big Sisters again soon.”
Donors are “All-In”
Annual Fund
We know mentoring works. Throughout the year, you see it too. Across the pages of each newsletter are our Littles, smiling next to their Bigs. Whether it’s a game of catch, a fishing trip or sharing advice, the results are positive. In the words of one parent to her son’s Big Sister: “I wanted to take the time to tell you what a great compliment you have been to my son’s world. . . I have seen you handle him with great care and it makes my heart happy. He looks forward to the days you are with him. Basically this is a note to tell you that you are such an amazing, wonderful soul and we thank you for being a part of our lives.” This year’s Annual Fund offers more ways than ever to make a big difference. Join us in 2013 in changing the lives of more children here on Long Island. For more information on any of the areas of support listed below, please contact Mark Cox, Chief Development Officer at 516-731-7880 x213. * Annual Fund
* James C. Metzger/E. David Woycik, Jr. Endowment Fund
* Auerbach Fund
* Jeffrey Grant Scholarship Fund
* Holiday for Kids’ Sake * Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund
UPCOMING
EVENTS
* Match Sponsor ($2,000 or greater)
DECEMBER 23rd Holiday for Kids’ Sake There is still time to donate a new, unwrapped item for a Little in our program! Gifts are appreciated no later than December 14th to Jamessina Hille. Call 516-731-7880 x222 for more information!
Despite being rescheduled to December 4th, BBBSLI’s “All-In” Poker Tournament, sponsored by New York Life and held at Social Sports Kitchen raised $14,500 in support of mentoring. The full house of players winded down to the final table at midnight, with four women in the top ten. Victoria Mink took first place and the trip to Las Vegas with supporter Gary Smith taking second place and Brian Heltzer taking third. Thanks to our table sponsors Cardworks, Executive Business Association, Harry Bachrach, Iron Cove Partners, Merrick Madmen, Nawrocki Smith LLP, Steve Madden Limited and the Whitmore Group.
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Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Raises $12,500 On September 17th, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick honored BBBSLI CEO Bill Tymann at their annual golf tournament. Held at the Cherry Valley Club in Garden City, the evening raised $12,500 in support of mentoring. “If every year I could help one child stay in school, one child stay off the streets and keep one child out of foster care, then I have done my job,” remarked Bill Tymann during this acceptance speech. John P. McDonough, President of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick with Bill Tymann, CEO of BBBSLI.
Celebrating ‘Five Years or More’ Anniversaries!
Did you know that 18% of all of our matches have been together for five or more years? We proudly celebrate our Bigs who in 2012 celebrated five or more years with their Little!
5 Years Jacqueline Brown Crystal Cohen Judy Faraone Michael Frangipane Christine Gadinis Jon Hinkaty Howard Kalachman Jonathan Lukasik Corynn Moseley Elizabeth Ryan 6 Years Praveen Anumolu Isabella Auditore Jacob Babu Patricia Casella Barbara Cohen Mark Doublet
John Fischetti Thomas Gatto Richard Gomes Robert Kelly Charles LaMura Kathleen Miller Gbenga Olowoyeye Andrea Papp Judith Pockriss Ilisa Polanksy Linda Waltzer William Whelan Lorraine Willett 7 Years Daniel Beccaria Judith Bowers Lori Diamond Sonya Lucki
John R. Murphy Bonne Paley Alan Perlman Stephanie White 8 Years Beverly Algarin Maureen Branagan Diane Crennan Jaclyn Neely Louise Rind 9 years Joanne Gallo Lisanne Lange Angela Pellegrino Gail Ruffino 10 Years Eric Sparwasser
Donation Center Resumes Service As of late November, BBBSLI trucks have resumed donation pickups across Long Island and we are working towards becoming fully operational. BBBSLI has temporarily rented warehouse space to accommodate donations. We recommend that all donors first try and locate a bin nearest you. Visit BBBSLI.org and click on the truck on our homepage to schedule a pickup online or to use our bin finder. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Donate Your Tickets!
If you or someone you know has tickets they cannot use, please consider donating them to BBBSLI for our Bigs & Littles. Contact: Jamessina Hille, 516.731.7880 x222 or jhille@bbbsli.org
Our Team Board Chair Jeffrey Schwartzberg CEO William Tymann COO Susan Samaroo CDO Mark Cox Newsletter Editor Jamessina Hille
Contact Us Nassau 516.731.7880 Suffolk 631.273.1469 East End 631.287.0086 Donation Center 631.234.0000 Email volunteers@bbbsli.org Web www.bbbsli.org winter 2012 bbbsli.org p4