Rescuing Families to hold first sale of the season

Gina and Vincent Centauro were all ready to begin holding their monthly charity yard sales at the end of March — they had several volunteers willing to help out and already had the tents set up — when Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared that New York would shut down to stop the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, they lost all of their volunteers, many donations and nearly $10,000 in revenue for their organization, Rescuing Families, Inc.

The monthly yard sales are a major source of funding for the organization, which rebuilds homes for people in need, Gina explained, and funds building materials, special trade work and rehousing expenses for the families during the renovations. Not having those funds, she said, delayed their renovations to the Helfenbein’s Hempstead home, where floorboards are breaking, a deck is deteriorating and the roof is leaking.

Claire Helfenbein’s husband, Irving, used to take care of all of the repairs, she told the Herald last August, but since he died of pancreatic and lung cancer eight years ago, it has been up to her to maintain the house and repair any damages caused by her autistic teenage son, Jacob — a difficult task, as she is in a wheelchair due to a birth defect and spends much of her time caring for Jacob.

The Centauros agreed to help last year, after they heard Claire’s story and saw the problems she is facing firsthand. They now plan to start the renovation process in late August.

To ensure they meet that schedule, the Centauros will be holding their first charity yard sale of the season this weekend, with another scheduled for the following weekend. They will be 1,800-square-foot sales of goods donated by residents from across Long Island, and each of the large canopy tents will feature different types of goods, such as home decor items and kitchen tools. Several volunteers will help set up and sort the donations.

“This sale, as with almost everything our charity does, takes a community to pull together to enable us to help the families,” Gina said, “so we always want to thank our community — they’re a big part of what we do, and they’re a big part of our family.

The Summer Kick-off Charity Yard Sales will be held on June 20 and 21, and June 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1010 Lewiston Street in Franklin Square. For more information, visit www.RescuingFamilies.org.