Things to Do on Long Island-Make a Difference

It seems like; I've been to every museum, beach, park, historical site, attraction, and points of interest on Long Island. So to expand the horizons of our children, I share my love to assist and volunteer. We are a very lucky family and we believe that part of our luck should be shared.

Volunteering is the unpaid exchange of time and/or services that assist others for a cause. This activity improves the quality of life of those receiving the assistance, but more importantly it shows that you care. Sharing is caring, and I want my children to understand there is more to life than video games and their own interests.

Over the past many years, I found myself gravitating towards to this mission statement. "To end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island." Linda Breitstone noticed a local store tossing out perfectly good food at the end of the day, so with a cooler and a station wagon, Island Harvest was created. Since 1992, they have delivered Over 56 million pounds of food, supplementing close to 44 million meals.

My current participation with Island Harvest has been assisting and supporting their Annual Taste of the Harvest celebration, where we enlist the Top Restaurants in the Region to showcase a sampling of their faire. Music, silent auction, live auction are showcased and awareness is created on the food insecurity that many Long Islanders face each day.

Another opportunity in which my family has done is to create a Food Drive. We hosted our drive at our local supermarket, and we raised over 400 pounds of food and raised over $500 with the support of our community.

A great school program that Island Harvest has initiated is the Coin Harvest program. Where school families are enlisted to gather pocket change, loose change or change found in the couch cushions and donate it to Island Harvest.

About 4 years ago, I was moved by the lack of physical activity than many children face each day. In turn, obesity is growing at an alarming rate. In fact, for the first time our children will have a shorter life span than the previous generation. "Giving Youth a Running Start," is the theme for Team for Kids. This theme motivated me to be more physically active and run the New York City Marathon. Little did I know that I would inspire my family and friends to run the marathon the following year.

"Team for Kids is a committed group of adult runners from around the world who add meaning to their miles by raising funds on behalf of New York Road Runners youth services, and in return, receive guaranteed entry into premier endurance events. Funds raised by Team for Kids members allow NYRR to provide free or low-cost school- and community-center based health and fitness programs to children who would otherwise have little to no access to regular physical activity. Currently, our programs serve more than 100,000 children each year in more than 400 schools and community centers in New York City, nationally, and in Africa."

One way to participate with Team for Kids to raise funds by signing up and training for a variety of races that are associated with the New York Road Runners Club. The premier race to be involved with is the New York City Marathon. You can hold a fund raising party, 5K race, or movie night to raise awareness on increasing the activity levels for children.

This year, I am a mentor for four runners this year, answering questions and sharing my experience so that their experience can be an awesome one, just like mine. The enjoyment I experience helping someone be healther as well as knowing the children will benefit is incredible

Both charities are open to your suggestions and look forward to doing something new. You can also donate your services and expertise, such as printing, marketing or warehouse experience to name a few. Just voice your thoughts and they will listen.

Creating a better world for all of us to step into is something that can happen and is happening everyday. Sharing is Caring. Make your weekend plans and do something good for someone else! Thanks for your participation.