Fundraising kicks off for 2015 St. Patrick’s Parade

For the seventh year in a row, RJ Daniels will be hosting the annual Fall Kick-Off Party to benefit The Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade. The Party will be from 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, October 11, and will feature a full open bar, a buffet dinner and the music of Jim “Wolfie” McGrath, all for $50, with the proceeds supporting the parade.

Patrons will also be able to purchase some of the parade’s official merchandise, such as T-shirts, hats, bracelets, pint glasses, and car magnets, as well as raffle tickets for more than 40 different prizes ranging from baskets of cheer to original paintings.

“This is the very first event of our short parade fundraising season” said Parade Committee Co-Chair Bonnie Dreska. “When you mix Irish pride, good company, good food and good music you, cannot go wrong”.

“RJ Daniels has been hosting this event for seven years now,” added Parade Committee Co-Chair Mike Cosgrove. “Their generosity is what makes the parade a success. This fundraiser truly reflects the values that make this ‘The Parade That Cares and Shares.’”

The parade donates to three charities every year and has distributed over $878,000 to 55 separate charities in the first 18 years of its existence. One of the three charities supported each year is a local charity, one is a national charity and one is an Irish charity. This year’s charities are The Katie McBride Foundation, a local charity devoted to supporting the families of victims of childhood leukemia and other life-threatening diseases; The Hance Family Foundation, a national charity seeking to ensure healthy, happy and safe childhoods through its innovative self-esteem educational programming; and The Dublin Children’s Pilgrimage, an Irish charity that, for almost 30 years, has been sending special needs children from the Dublin Diocese to Lourdes where they are joined by thousands of children from around the world for Children’s Seek in Lourdes.