59.0°,
Light Drizzle Fog/Mist Local dentist hosting charity fundraiser
Donating to Gift of Life Foundation
For one night only, Oceanside dentist Dr. David Solomon will be putting down his mouth mirror in exchange for bottles.
Solomon, a Woodmere resident, will be guest bartending at EB Elliot’s in Freeport on Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. to raise money for the Gift of Life Foundation, which works to find bone marrow donors for patients in need.
“[The foundation] tries to get people to get their cheeks swabbed so they can see if the DNA matches someone who’s in need of bone marrow because of diseases like leukemia and things like that,” said Solomon. “My wife had a bone marrow transplant about a year and a half ago, and thank God she’s doing well.”
His wife’s own bone marrow transplant was the impetus for Solomon wanting to raise money for the Gift of Life Foundation.
“This year, that’s why I chose the Gift of Life foundation,” Solomon said. “I didn’t know much about it until my wife went through it.”
The fundraising will take the form of tips for the drinks that Solomon makes. Last year, Solomon did the same thing and raised $2,200. This year, he’s hoping to make even more.
“Everybody’s going to know I’m doing this for a charity,” said Solomon. “And I’m going to match whatever tips I bring in, and we’re going to give it to the Gift of Life Foundation.”
Solomon is also going to be encouraging people to get their cheeks swabbed and get themselves signed up for the donor registry. Many people are afraid to even sign up, he said, because they don’t want to take the chance of going through a painful bone marrow extraction. “But 75, 80 percent of the time, they just need to have stem cells taken out, which is like a blood transfusion,” Solomon said. “So they take the blood out and they take the stem cells and use those in the transplant.”
And in the future, Solomon plans on asking patients if they want to have their cheeks swabbed for the Gift of Life Foundation.
“I’m a dentist, but meanwhile I get to have a good time being a bartender,” said Solomon. “And I’m doing it for a good cause. So there’s really no downside at all.”
Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516)569-4000 ext. 269.
