Those who served receive holiday cheer

The service members see that we care, and we lift their spirits up, which helps with their recovery.”

Kevin Bien

The Lynbrook and East Rockaway fire departments joined other local fire departments as part of the Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warriors to deliver gifts to wounded service members and their families.

Mayor Alan Beach, along with some of his trustees wished the Wounded Warrior team well as they embarked Dec. 9 on a five-hour road trip to Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The Lynbrook Fire Department hosted fundraisers and food drives this summer in preparation for this event. Along with food, the rental truck was loaded up with clothing, toys, electronics, and toiletries. The toys go to family members of the wounded service members.

“We had boxes of canned goods that went right to the pantry,” said Steve Grogan, one of the vice chairmen of Wounded Warriors. “The whole Penske truck was filled to the back.

“We got toys from Rockville Centre Fire Department and Our Lady of Peace Church.”

Grogan credited Lynne Donnelly, a member of the Lynbrook Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, for determining the number of children to be helped, their ages, and then shopping for specific gifts.

“When we get the donated gifts, we look through them, and if we find something for a child who, for example, is a female and 5 years old, we take that gift, wrap it up, and put it under a tree,” Grogan said.

The rest of the gifts go on a table where children pick the one they want. Along with collecting gifts and goods for Nassau County Firefighters, Lynbrook raised money for the organization.

Lynbrook held a Wounded Warrior concert and block party in Greiss Park on Sept. 24, raising $30,000 for the operation.

According to Grogan, the fundraiser would not have been a success without Donnelly’s efforts to contact organizations and corporations to donate raffle prizes to the fundraiser. “We had paintings, baseball signatures, and about 150 other raffle prizes because of Lynne’s letter writings,” Grogan said.

He added that there is a lot of work that goes into this event, which is why Donnelly gets a head start.

“Lynne starts preparing now for the fundraiser that we do in Greiss Park every September,” Grogan said, adding that Donnelly is the “backbone of the Lynbrook Fire Department.”

Grogan expressed his gratitude for the hard work that Councilman Anthony D’Esposito has done for Wounded Warriors.

D’Esposito coordinated a fundraiser in a prior year at the Peach Clam bar with all the funds going towards the Nassau County Firefighters.

“He’s always been supportive,” Grogan said. “And this year, he said ‘I’m coming down to Fort Belvoir to help.’”

D’Esposito served lunch at Fort Belvoir along with the chiefs of the Lynbrook, East Rockaway, and Malverne fire departments. After lunch, Santa visited the children. Over 800 wounded service members and their families were helped this year.

Kevin Bien, chairman of Lynbrook Fire Department’s Wounded Warrior committee, got involved after seeing the benefits first hand. “In 2008, I heard about the organization and myself, with a couple of other people, took a trip down to Walter Reed Hospital where the event happened at that time,” Bien said. “I was very impressed by what they did and after I took the same trip in 2010, I thought there was something we had to do.”

Bien feels he has made a huge impact on these service members and their families throughout the years.

“By going down and meeting these service members, you definitely see that you made a difference,” he said.