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East Rockaway fitness club hosts St. Jude fundraiser

ROK runs classes to support children’s hospital

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The response to the second annual St Jude fundraiser at ROK Health and Fitness in East Rockaway was overwhelming.

With the kindness and support of the owners, staff, instructors, members and other participants, as well as the generosity of Lynbrook Bagels, they raised $4,560.

“We came together as a community to raise awareness and money for The St. Jude “Give Thanks Walk” to be held on Nov 22 at Bethpage Ballpark,” said coordinator Patti Mandel-Birnbaum, committee member of the walk and captain of Team ROK. “It was truly a heartwarming experience for all involved, and I’m proud to be a member of the ROK family.”

“The only word that we can use to describe this event was ‘amazing,’ said co-owner Mike Hawxby. “Our members, staff and the community all reached out to make this event a tremendous success and we can’t thank them all enough for that. We look forward to making this event bigger and better each and every year.”

ROK director Craig D’urso agreed. “It truly goes to show the greatness of our ROK community and how blessed we are to have all of these individuals as part of our ROK family.”

“It was an honor and privilege to be a part of this fundraiser,” said Pat Milillo, one of the instructors who taught the TRX Boxing Fusion class.

Deena Clancy, owner of Lynbrook Bagels who attended and donated for the entire event said, “We at Lynbrook Bagels are honored to help raise money and give back to the community with feeding all the wonderful people that donated to this event. Nothing is more joyful than happy healthy children.”

Steve Swan, who taught the donation Spin Class said “I just want to applaud all the open-hearted generous people of ROK for their contributions, and a hand for Patti, who put in countless hours to make this event a great success.”

Bella Forma Barre Pilates owner Carla Sacken said that her company is “honored to participate in raising money for such a noble charity as St Jude Children’s Hospital.