East Rockaway volunteer group The11518 is hosting its second annual pub crawl on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. to raise money for Next Step Ministries, a nonprofit organization that sends teenagers throughout the country to help communities rebuild after natural disasters.
“We’re kind of a support agency for families recovering after storms,” said Nick Cocalis, the mission director for Next Step Ministries.
Money raised from the pub crawl will help Next Step Ministries fund a new mission in San Augustine County, Texas, which flooded during Hurricane Harvey. According to Cocalis, the organization has connections in Texas and is in the process of figuring out where to send the teenagers. He also said that he was contacted by Dan Caracciolo, a co-founder of The11518, about the pub crawl and thought it was a good idea. “Dan and his team have been a huge help,” Cocalis said.
Caracciolo and fellow East Rockaway residents Joe and Lauren Forgione founded The11518 in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy to help other members of the community. The group hosted its first pub crawl last year to showcase the revitalized area, and raised about $10,000 for Louisiana flood victims.
Caracciolo said that he wanted to help Next Step because the organization helped East Rockaway rebuild after Sandy. “Next Step has been in East Rockaway for the last four years providing disaster relief,” Caracciolo said. “So, we kind of want to say thank you for doing that.”