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Schools

Finley Girls Find Joy in Philanthropy

A group of Finley Middle School girls turned their summer vacation into a successful fundraising venture.

Last summer, a group of 11 girls – who have known each other since kindergarten – wanted to do something more with their time off from school.

The girls, who are all under the age of 14, created a fundraising group known as “Stitches for Joy and Cupcakes for the Cure,” or SJCC.

Grace Blinkoff, Alexandra Casale, Lindsay Dwyer, Karina Farruya, Amanda Heavey, Anna Kassar, Maria Krish, Sabrina Magrini, Michelle Melfi, Kayla Monahan and Sara Tenke make up SJCC team.

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“We were talking about doing community service in high school and decided to do this,” said Kassar. “We set up as soon as possible.”

Using the skills they learned at camp, they stitched bracelets with intricate patterns and baked hundreds of pink ribbon cupcakes, which they sold at events held throughout Glen Cove.

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“Sabrina is really good with the bracelets,” said few of the young ladies in unison, referring to that particular member’s “crazy” talents in stitching. Others admitted to having skills in decorating and baking.

Dwyer proudly announced her very specific contribution: “I’m a froster.”

The girls made appearances at the Downtown Jazz Festival and Beach Festival.

By the end of summer, they had raised over $1,000 for their cause of choice: the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

“We all have family members or friends with breast cancer,” said Farruya.

Their efforts encouraged other members of the community to take action, as residents began making baked goods for further support, according to a recent news release.

Even as a new school year began, the girls continued their philanthropic work. This past October, the girls sold cupcakes at the Jones Beach Breast Cancer Walk for a Cure and have created Facebook and Twitter accounts to spread the word of their endeavors.

Making a difference is the girls’ top priority, however it is easy to see how fundraising originally sparked their interest.

“We get to meet a lot of people,” said Krish.

“It’s a lot of fun making cupcakes, selling them and knowing that it could save somebody’s life,” said Dwyer.

“Having fun together and, at the same time, knowing you’re doing something right for others; it’s just a really good feeling,” added Blinkoff.

“I think it’s really funny and cute to watch kids come back for more and more cupcakes,” said Magrini.

While the girls' hard work stands out on their high school activity sheets and counts as community service, Farruya said that the fundraiser is more than just about fulfilling school requirements: “It’s not that we wanted to put this on paper,” she said. “We felt that this was needed to help others."

SJCC is currently planning their next bake sale and looking forward to spring break and summer vacation, which will provide more opportunities to raise money.

“We’ll be at the big events when it’s warmer outside,” said Casale.

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