A Long Beach nonprofit that honors the memory of a young athlete will be among three charities benefiting from the 2027 Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next March.
The 2027 parade committee recognized G2H and its other two charitable beneficiaries — The Maurer Foundation and Anam Cara — at a kickoff party Sept. 25 at Centre Station in Rockville Centre. The parade will take place March 20, 2027, beginning at noon.
The G2H Foundation, which supports school, sports and service scholarships and assists families, community organizations and charitable causes, was selected as the parade’s local charity. The foundation was formed on March 2, 2023 in honor of Gerrin Hagen and is based in Long Beach.
Hagen, a Long Beach High School senior, died in January that year, just two weeks after turning 18. Hagen was studying carpentry in the mornings at Nassau BOCES Joseph M. Barry Career & Technical Education Center. As he was heading to his car to drive to the high school for his afternoon classes, Hagen was struck from behind by a motorist who allegedly drove around another vehicle and continued through a stop sign, according to prosecutors.
Hagen was active in the community. He spent summers on the beaches as an ocean lifeguard and aspired to be a first responder in Long Beach. As a defenseman, he was captain of the varsity hockey team and his travel team, the Long Island Gulls.
Hagen also worked at the Long Beach Municipal Ice Arena starting when he was 14 and had just learned how to drive the Zamboni before he died. Gerrin’s father, Chris Hagen, said his son grew up marching in the parade and loved attending every year. Just last year, Hagen said, 50 members of G2H marched in the parade.
“Many of our volunteers and supporters, are very familiar with the Rockville Centre parade,” he said. “We were privileged to be selected and to share the good work that we’ve done in three and half years.”
G2H, Hagen said, has put more than $320,000 into the community, donating to more than a dozen local charities in Long Beach, school programs in Long Beach and Island Park, youth athletics and scholarships to deserving college students and helping community, and helping community members in need.
“When a need arises or something comes to us, we look to our mission statement,” Hagen said. “We’ve made a conscious effort to help as many as we can. That’s how we operate.”
Ashley Brennan, president of the Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, said the kickoff had an especially energetic atmosphere, in part because of G2H’s presence. She praised G2H’s work in the community thus far.
“What they’ve been able to do so far has been amazing,” Brennan said. “They have a lot of support through their community. It’s not very common that a grieving parent can turn around and put together a 501 c3 a few months after they lose a child.”
Brennan said G2H’s strong presence in Long Beach also gives the parade committee an opportunity to expand its reach beyond Rockville Centre. She said the committee is working on plans for an event in Long Beach, although details have not yet been finalized.
The other two charities selected are The Maurer Foundation, which focuses on breast cancer education and awareness, and Anam Cara, an Irish organization that provides bereavement support to families who have lost a child.
The parade will also honor longtime Rockville Centre businessman and community supporter Tom Mahoney — the proprietor of MacArthur Park Restaurant in Rockville Centre — as its 2027 grand marshal.
The Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Parade first stepped off in 1997 and has traditionally selected three beneficiaries representing local, national and Irish causes. The parade committee says it has distributed more than $1.8 million to charities since its inception.
The 2027 parade will begin at noon from the municipal parking lot on North Sunrise Highway and follow its traditional route through Rockville Centre.
