Rockin’ out for a worthy cause

In an attempt to raise money for the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps, several young musicians recently decided to join forces to host a benefit concert in Malverne on Oct. 24. And as news about the concert spread throughout the village, more people decided to help the young rockers make a difference in their community.

"The support we have received from residents and village officials here in Malverne has helped us a lot," said Malverne resident Monica Weitekamp, an organizer of the event. "We're very excited that we are able to do this and help the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps."

The 911 ROCKtober benefit concert will kick-off on Saturday at the village’s American Legion Hall at 6 p.m. The event will feature performances by dozens of young musicians in the area and include special guest appearances from Twisted Sister bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza and classic rock station Q104.3 on-air personality Jim Kerr. The local bands will perform a mixture of original and cover rock songs and organizers are expecting at least 250 people to attend the event.

The formation of the MVAC began after it took more than 30 minutes for the Nassau County’s medical police ambulance to arrive in the village to help a child who was hit by a car in 1968. Since its first organizational meeting in September of that year, the MVAC has provided emergency medical services to residents in Malverne, Malverne Park, and North Lynbrook. The organization was officially chartered by the state of New York on January 29, 1969, according to its Web site. The MVAC also celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

The organization is currently raising funds to establish its own emergency headquarters. To date, the MVAC is the only volunteer ambulance corps in the state without its own building.

"I wanted to do something different to raise money for the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps, so I came up with an idea to host a rock concert," Weitekamp explained. "We're having five bands perform and they are all bands that include students from Kellenberg Memorial High School, and I encourage music fans to come to the concert because it's going to be a great event and it's for a really good cause."

Admission is $15. For more information, contact Weitekamp at (516) 593-2413 or MVAC President Joe Karam at (516) 250-2179.

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