Auction for Sunrise

The All Star Academy will hold a youth art and poetry contest and art auction fundraiser on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. at 10 Grande Ave., Rockville Centre to benefit Sunrise Day Camp and the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Tickets are $5 each and can be bought on allstarresource.com.

This is the first event for ASA, which aims to stop bullying and empower young people.

“The showcase is to show off the talent of children and adolescents in Nassau,” said Robert Lancer, ASA’s founder. Lancer, a psychologist, has worked with adolescents and children for more than 10 years.

Lancer plans to start holding workshops for children and their parents on emotional education, resilience and personal growth in January.

The raffle and ticket sales will benefit Sunrise Day Camp, which provides free camp activities for children with cancer and their siblings. Sunrise Day Camp staff and volunteers also visit hospitals and provide activities for young cancer patients. Additionally, children from the camp will exhibit their artwork at the fundraiser.

The art auction proceeds will go to NAMI.

“They do it [help people with mental illness] through education and officially breaking down the walls,” Lancer said when asked why he is raising funds for NAMI.

In addition to the fundraiser, there will be food, music and a ceremony honoring Dr. James Dolan, Nassau County’s Director of Community Services for the Office of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency. Dolan was chosen for his work in counseling people whose homes were ruined by Hurricane Sandy through Project Hope.

Nassau county residents from 3rd through 12th grade can submit artwork and poetry for the contest. The artwork must be submitted to allstarcontest10@gmail.com by Sept. 10. Rules for submissions are on allstarresource.com under the “Poetry Contest” tab. For more information, call 516-456-4155.

There will an award ceremony for the winners in the 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade categories, as well as the general category, “Bully Proofing Long Island.”