EGP Oceanside’s Fall Fest benefits and supports local family

The community gathered in support of Liam Driscoll and his family at the restaurant EGP Oceanside’s annual Family Fall Fest on Oct. 14.

Each year, the fun day of festivities benefits a local family facing challenges. The festival “has become a traditional event that we like to host for our community,” said EGP owner Tim O’Hagan. “It’s a great way to bring the community together and thank them for supporting our business throughout the year.”

Oceansiders Brian and Dena Driscoll, who have two sons, Declan, 5, and Liam, 3, were the recipients of the event’s proceeds this year. Liam faces ongoing medical conditions and disabilities.

“We’re so grateful that the restaurant thought of us and would do this for us,” Dena said. “And it was a great turnout — it was so nice of our community to come out and show their support.”

Liam was born with tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect, and underwent open-heart surgery at age 3 months. He also has hearing loss and microcephaly, a condition that leads to intellectual and speech delays, as well as abnormal muscle functionality and gastrointestinal issues. He has had several surgeries to correct his medical conditions.

Most recently, Liam was diagnosed with ATR-X syndrome, Dena said. “There were a lot of questions along the way,” she said, “and just last week we finally got our answer.”

Those with ATR-X syndrome typically exhibit intellectual disability and characteristic facial features, along with additional medical abnormalities, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

EGP raised more than $10,000 from the pumpkin patch, bouncy house, raffles and T-shirts, as well as a portion of food and beverage sales, and donated it to the Driscolls.

The family has in turn given some of that money to With Arms Wide Open, an organization that helps families of New York City police officers who have children with special needs. Brian is an NYPD officer, and the charity has helped the Driscolls in the past, so they wanted to give back.

“They were the beneficiaries of this wonderful event in Oceanside,” said Jennifer McCarthy, a With Arms Wide Open board member, “and they decided to give back to the organization that helped them a few years ago. That’s just them — that’s Dena and Brian.”

McCarthy met the Driscolls at a fundraiser for the organization, which it holds to help the families “celebrate our kids, say ‘I got you and it gets easier,’” McCarthy said, noting that the social and emotional support goes a long way.

She also said that the Driscolls’ contribution would benefit Samantha O’Donovan’s New York City Marathon campaign, which she is dedicating to Liam. O’Donovan, of Park Ridge, N.J., will donate the money she raises to With Arms Wide Open. The organization’s board of directors paired her with Liam for the fundraiser.

The remaining money that the Driscolls received from EGP will help them pay for Liam’s hearing aids, medical bills and “anything else he needs,” Dena said.

She added that the event was loads of fun for the children. Liam, Declan and their friends enjoyed picking and decorating pumpkins and listening to live acoustic performances at the restaurant, and many people who follow Liam’s journey on the Facebook page “Lionhearted Liam” wanted to meet him.

“We couldn’t be more thankful of the Driscoll family’s continued support of our business, as well as their involvement in the Oceanside community,” O’Hagan said. He also thanked the attendees for supporting the Driscolls. “It comes to show how special the Oceanside community truly is,” he said, “and we couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it.”