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Fair Fundraiser nets over $5K for East Rockaway High School's Keith Lane scholarship
A garage sale fundraiser was held at the Main Street Firehouse in East Rockaway on April 15 and netted over $5,000 for the Keith Lane Visual Arts & Media Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to an East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School student who is pursuing a college degree in media.
The honor was created in memory of Lane, an East Rockaway JSHS graduate who died suddenly last August. Lane devoted his life to photojournalism and was a Fox 5 cameraman for nearly three decades. He also volunteered in the East Rockaway and Oceanside fire departments.
“It was awesome,” said Keith’s sister, Stacy Lane-Navarra of the fundraiser. “People came all day long, I thought they were coming to shop, but they weren’t coming to shop, they were coming to give more donations.”
Lane-Navarra said profits came from selling items such as clothes, furniture, housewares, books and toys. There were also many donations — including $500 from the Nassau County Burn Unit. The Banana Bread Baking Company based in Garden City and Lynbrook-based Doughology also set up tables and donated their proceeds to the cause.
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino and Councilman Anthony D’Esposito were among the guests, and presented Lane-Navarra with a citation. Kevin Klein from the Oceanside Fire Department, where Lane volunteered for 23 years, also showed his support.
Lane-Navarra expressed her gratitude to her friends for helping her collect donations, and to the Main Street Fire House firefighters who aided her in setting everything up. She also thanked her husband, Peter Navarra, and daughter, Ashley Ruland, for their help and support.
She said she will meet with ERJSHS Principal Joseph Spero on May 4 to discuss the next steps in awarding the scholarship.
“It was so unbelievable,” Lane-Navarra said. “I was so happy with how everything turned out … it was a huge success.”
