On Saturday, April 27th, over 300 participants took part in the Walk for Kids’ Sake presented by Capital One Bank and GEICO at Eisenhower Park, raising more than $70,000 in support of mentoring.

The 5K brings together Bigs, Littles and supporters of the community to raise much needed funds to enable BBBSLI to provide mentors to children on Long Island who may be facing adversity.


Thank you Sponsors!
GOLD
Competitive Events, Wells Fargo

SILVER
Center for Wealth Preservation, CHIPS Technology Group LLC, Dan & Ivy Greenburg, DeFreitas & Minsky, LLP, Dycon Enterprises, Flushing Savings Bank, GNP Specialites, Inc., Jeffrey & Kathleen Glass, Jim's Deli, Katz & Zlotnick, Kohl's, Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., New York Auto Giant, North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, Sanders Law Firm, Scholastic, Awards and More, Scott Horowitz (Shoreline Insurance), Stephen Cohen, Steve Madden Ltd., Stop and Shop of Levittown, Utz, V.T. Mancusi, Inc., Wells Fargo Advisors

Photo: Board Members joined sponsors GEICO and Capital One Bank in kicking off the event at Eisenhower Park. (L-R) Jeff Schwartzberg (Board Chair), Michael Paley, Joy Watson, CEO Bill Tymann, E. David Woycik, Michael Thomas (GEICO), Andrew Sherry (Captital One), Regina Schilling, Daniel Greenburg and Thomas Slome.

On Tuesday, April 23, we celebrated our Bigs at the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, generously sponsored by Sperry Associates FCU.

“Sperry Associates Federal Credit Union is honored to sponsor the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in celebration of mentoring and making a difference in the lives of children in our community,” said Kevin Healy, CEO of Sperry FCU.

During the evening’s program, volunteer mentors (‘Bigs’) who have been matched for five or more years were recognized. BBBSLI also proudly announced the Bigs of the Year, those who have gone above and beyond in support of a child facing adversity:

College Big of the Year
Sean Williams
Hofstra University Mentoring Program

Big Sister of the Year
Lisanne Lange of Mineola, NY
Matched since 2003

Big Brother of the Year
John Murphy of Williston Park, NY
Matched since 2005

Sean Williams’ Little Brother, 8-year old Mukesh, wrote in his speech, “I’ve known Sean for some time now and feel very comfortable around him. I do not ever feel that he judges me. Sean is always encouraging me to do my very best. Sean is a very helpful person.”

Little Sister Nicole has been matched for 10 years with her Big Sister, Lisanne Lange, and wrote “Thank you for supporting me and helping me grow up. You have inspired me to be a Big Sister- every little girl should get to experience a relationship like ours.”

Big Brother of the Year John Murphy’s Little Brother wrote a heartfelt letter, sharing “I remember John always telling me that life is better than money and cars. He taught me that family is the most important thing in life. He has always been caring for my family and me and never once gave up on me.”

The 30 year-old Long Island based footwear retailer Renarts Footwear hosted ‘Kicks for Kids’, benefiting our “Littles”, at their East Northport store on April 6th. This was the second Kicks for Kids event, created by former BBBSLI Little Brother Chase Ceparano, providing Littles in our mentoring program with brand new sneakers.

This special event featured tents set up outside the storefront where 50 Littles and their Bigs received VIP treatment from Renarts staff on a gorgeous spring day. Additionally, TCBY Ice Cream in East Northport donated gift cards to every Little thanks to Theresa Kaplan.

"I can speak for all of us at Renarts and proudly say that having the opportunity to team with Big Brothers Big Sisters and help out the special 'Littles' in their organization is absolutely amazing,” says Chase. He, along with Renarts owners, brothers Ankur and Nick Amin, rallied support from vendors for the event. “We're truly happy to play a part in this program along with our vendors and are already looking forward to the next 'Kicks for Kids' event coming this Fall."

Renarts and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island would like to extend their gratitude and appreciation to those that made this event possible, including Nike - Curt C. & Kristen K., Air Jordan - Lisa P. & Bill C., Reebok - Kyle Anglin & Paul Fisher, Timberland - Teresa Graham, Merrell - Rich Braverman, Adidas - Hakeem Williams, New Balance - Ken Cracchiola and Lacoste - Devlin Thornton.