Neighbors helping neighbors in need

A 5-year-old needs a kidney transplant and his father is the best match. The family would be severely impacted paying their rent, for food and heat as the dad could not work during the up to three-month recovery.

Five Towns Community Chest’s Neighbor’s in Need program responded with financial help that significantly supplemented the collection of money conduced by Peninsula Kiwanis and the Number Four School, where Christopher who needed the transplant now attends kindergarten. The Chiapot family of Inwood, including, dad Rudi, mom Ana and children Brian and Daniela are currently doing well.

One of the service agencies that Community Chest supports informed them that a family was facing eviction. Both parents had been laid off from their jobs. The oldest child dropped out of college and was working full-time to help support the family. The agency raised $1,000, but fell short of what was needed. The Neighbors in Need committee voted to give the remainder. The family wasn’t evicted. New full-time jobs were found.

Another Five Towns family found themselves in financial straits when the husband/father was also laid off. The children were in desperate need of winter clothing. The services of the JCC of the Greater Five Towns Rina Shkolnik Food Pantry – that Community Chest also supports – were made available to them. There was also a final termination notice from PSEG Long Island. The Neighbors in Need committee approved payment of that bill, which allowed the family to regain their fiscal footing.

“[We have] aided hundreds of individuals and families in need,” said Community Chest Executive Director Bob Block. “Thanks to the generosity of our supporters our area agencies can continue to provide first rate service to thousands of your neighbors and the occasional extra little aid when it counts the most.”

To ensure that the Woodmere-based organization can provide that service, it will hold its fourth annual Neighbors in Need fundraiser at the Woodmere Club this Thursday. The fundraiser event was cancelled in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy, but the financial campaign was successful, according to Block, who said it raised a substantial amount of money to support storm victims.

Coordinating this year’s event are Five Towns residents Cori Berke and Diane Rattner. Both women have longtime ties with Community Chest. Berke, who lives in Lawrence, is a board member for the past decade. She became involved about 20 years ago when she was asked to run a tennis tournament. Her two sons followed her lead and took part in Community Chest’s Youth Board that creates volunteer opportunities for high school students.

“We have a lot of support from the Community Chest office, the board and the Youth Board,” Berke said, about planning the fundraiser. “As always it is a joint effort.”

A legacy of volunteering spurred Woodmere resident Rattner to become involved from 1995 to 2001. Her grandfather was a president of the Peninsula Counseling Center, which was based in Lawrence for 95 years before moving to Valley Stream seven years ago. After a hiatus, Rattner returned two years ago and has been involved as a board member and special events coordinator. “Cori and I are co-chairs and our responsibility is to coordinate the activities of the committee and make sure everything is done well.”

The co-chairs also set up the event’s entertainment. This year it is Woodmere native and stand-up comedian Harrison Greenbaum. “He is the same age as some of our children and we kept tabs on him,” Rattner said. “It is a good thing to have a native of the community raise money for those less fortunate in our community.”