East Rockaway gym’s fundraiser nets more than $8K for St. Jude

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Fifteen men and women wore glow sticks and whistles on Sept. 15 as they rode stationary bikes for 90 minutes at ROK Health and Fitness in East Rockaway.

They were sweating for a cause — the class was part of a nine-day fundraiser to benefit the Long Island chapter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which specializes in research and the treatment of pediatric cancer and other deadly childhood diseases.

“We’re going to have fun,” said Natalie Lupowitz, of Oceanside, the co-instructor of the spin class. “We’re celebrating the children. We’re celebrating their health and their good fortune.”

This was just one of 12 classes, ranging from yoga to boxing, that were scheduled by event organizer Patti Mandel-Birnbaum, a Hewlett resident and a substitute teacher at Lynbrook North Middle School. Most of the classes —offered from Sept. 8-16 — cost $15, except for the spin class, which was $20. All fees went to the annual St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer — scheduled for this Saturday at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa — as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Lupowitz said she volunteered to co-teach the spin class with her friend Joanne Cassidy because they both believe in the cause. “They do so much,” Cassidy, another Oceanside resident, said of the doctors and nurses at St. Jude. “I mean, you see the commercials on TV and it’s all about the kids.”

“It’s an honorable organization,” Lupowitz added.

All of the money donated to the hospital goes to fund treatments, find cures and help the families of children with cancer meet expenses. “No child is ever denied treatment, and families never receive a bill,” said Mandel-Birnbaum, who has headed the fundraiser for the past five years.

According to her husband, Steve Birnbaum, Patti organized the classes because she attended a St. Jude informational event five years ago and became interested in the organization. “When you meet the families and the children that it helps, it’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time,” Patti said. “Then you actually see who this money is helping.”

After learning about St. Jude, she contacted Michael Hawksby, the co-owner of ROK Health and Fitness, about setting up a fundraiser at the gym, where she is a member. Hawksby said that St. Jude is “one of the best causes there is out there to help the children out.”

“All we could get for them still wouldn’t be enough,” he added.

Hawksby also said that Mandel-Birnbaum planned the weeklong fundraiser. “I tell Patti, ‘This is your thing, run with it, do it.’ I give her whatever she needs and I house it here,” he said.

Mandel-Birnbaum approached 68 local businesses to encourage them to donate raffle prizes. Lynbrook Bagels gave a bagel breakfast and a gift card; ROK Health and Fitness offered a three-month membership as a grand prize and two personal training sessions; and Reel, in East Rockaway, was among the many businesses that donated gift cards, among other prizes.

The fundraiser drew more than 100 participants, including Victoria Jorglewich, who doesn’t go to the gym on Friday nights. “That’s usually my day off, but because Patti’s doing her thing on Friday night, we’re here,” Jorglewich, an Ocean- side resident, said of herself and her friends. “We were here last Friday, too. It’s a nice thing to do on a Friday night, to get together with a bunch of people and raise money at the same time.”

Frances Fisher, an East Rockaway resident, took part in the 90-minute spin class, even though she had attended a similar class earlier that day. “Patti set this up so that it just runs smoothly and you just want to do it,” Fisher said. “She’s so devoted, and she’s just so happy to do what she’s doing, and she cares.”

The event raised $8,760 from the classes and raffles, which brought Mandel-Birnbaum’s personal fundraising total up to $10,550. That broke her record for the most money she has raised since the fundraiser began in 2012. “I’m in awe of how hard she works for a cause that’s a wonderful cause,” her husband said.