Lion Lights
The holiday season has kicked into full gear. Our town tree and Menorah has been lit courtesy of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce, our beautiful lamp posts that line Higbie Lane have been decorated by volunteers led by the West Islip Beautification Society. Our new 9/11 memorial will be dedicated this month, also courtesy of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce and everyone from the Woman of West Islip to Jen Gallozzi and her Helping Hands Charity have been doing so much for so many!
We at Lionheart would like to take a moment to celebrate these selfless community members and say thank you to all these community heroes.
Lionheart has been truly fortunate to have such a wide ranging response from the community. Many individual families made donations through our online pay service; others either mailed in checks or dropped them by Bayview Elementary school. We had a variety of doctor offices make donations as well as donations from Atlantic Auto Mall, all of the youth league organizations and a donation from the East Islip Soccer club who in the aftermath of the storm held a weekend tournament and is donating a substantial number of gift cards to us to give out to our most effected families. The list goes on and on, and from every one of you who dropped 50 cents in a bucket, bought a T-shirt or wrote a check, we are humbled by your generosity.
In recognition of the holiday season, the victims of hurricane Sandy and the many anonymous volunteers our community has, Lionheart is proud to present, “LION LIGHTS”, A night of remembrance and reflection in our busy holiday world. This event, chaired by Lionheart committee member Cathy Lang is sponsored by The West Islip Teacher’s Association through a generous donation to Lionheart. In a letter sent to the WI Summit Coalition, WITA states, “It is our hope that the spirit of the Lionheart Foundation will continue to help our community, especially those who are less fortunate than others. The community and especially its children, remain a top priority in our personal and professional lives.” Lionheart is very grateful for this donation, and we will be able to help many community members with it.
“Lion Lights” will be a community wide event for everyone to show your Lion’s pride by lighting up the community in support of Sandy recovery with “Lion” luminaries at your home. Lion Lights will be distributed the week of December 10 to elementary children through their backpacks and to the community at various events. Lion Lights should be displayed curbside at your home on December 15 at 7 p.m. The Rain date will be December 16. Please turn off your holiday lights while the candles are lit.
From all of us at Lionheart, we wish you Peace and Joy through the holiday season and the new year.
