Kids & Family
Good News: Firefighter Thanks Blood Donors; Mitzvah Day
A look at some of the inspiring headlines from around the region this week.
Firefighter Thanks Blood Donors Who Saved His Life
An FDNY firefighter from Islip who was critically injured in a 2011 fire met his life-saving blood donors for the first time at dinner in Woodbury on Wednesday.
Robert Wiedmann suffered mostly third-degree burns on more than 50 percent of his body while fighting a major house blaze in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in 2011.
A type O-negative blood donor himself, Wiedmann received a tremendous outpour of blood donations from across the region to as far as Boston, Massachusetts. O-negative donors are known as “universal donors” because their blood can be used in trauma situations when there is no time for blood typing. Wiedmann’s many donors were critical in saving his life as he recovered from more than a dozen surgeries.
WWII Vet Returns from 'Honor Flight' to DC
World War II veteran Santo Squillacioti of Huntington received a special welcome-home greeting last weekend at Islip-MacArthur Airport after his “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C.
There to greet him was Assemb. Chad Lupinacci (R, C, WF, I-Huntington Station), who met Squillacioti and Walt Whitman High School Principal Kathleen Acker and Eagle Scout Thomas Ciravolo.
Through this program, Acker and Ciravolo escorted Squillacioti, who officials say does not have the resources or strength to make a traditional trip, on a tour of the nation’s capital.
More than 800 residents from the Port Washington area participated in the 3rd Community-Wide Mitzvah Day on Sunday May 4, in Port Washington. A total of six synagogues –The Community Synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, The Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore, Chabad of Port Washington, Port Jewish Center and Chevrat Tefillah – united as a Jewish community and worked on more than 35 mitzvah projects that benefited numerous local and worldwide recipients.
Nassakeag Elementary's Pennies for Patients Drive a Big Success
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Students and staff from Nassakeag Elementary School, in the Three Village School District, collected spare change for a worthy cause this spring.
During a two-week Pennies for Patients drive, the school raised more than $1,255 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. The effort, which was the building’s most successful to date, was spearheaded by the Nassakeag Student Council. The names of those who contributed to the cause were put on a “Wall of Pennies” display board in the building, which served as a visual reminder of the cause.
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According to the society’s website, “Pennies for Patients is a service learning, character education and philanthropy program that gives students a unique experience making a difference through teamwork — working together to aid thousands of children and adults in the fight blood cancers like leukemia.”
Boy Scout Troop 3 Supports the L.I. Workers’ Memorial Day ServiceTroop 3, Smithtown, honors workers who lost their lives due to workplace injury and illness. Each year on April 28th, The Long Island Workers’ Memorial Day Committee organizes a memorial service dedicated to the memory and honor of those Long Island workers who have died due to a workplace injury or illness.
On April 12th, the Troop conducted a community service cleanup project on the Workers’ Memorial Square located in front of the New York State Office Building in Hauppauge. The square is a tranquil, landscaped garden. Over 30 scouts and adults leaders worked on the square to get it ready for the service. In addition, the Troop presented the colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance at the memorial service held on April 28th.
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