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A Few Clouds and Breezy Lynbrook Fire Department hosts Wounded Warrior events
Lynbrook firefighters will host their annual Wounded Warrior Concert and Block Party on Saturday, September 24th at Greis Park. Two other wounded warrior fundraisers are also slated.
Fire Chief Chris Kelly made the announcement at a recent meeting of the Lynbrook Fire Department’s Wounded Warrior committee. This will be the eleventh year the firefighters have held this event to benefit Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior.
Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity made up of Nassau County volunteer firefighters, who have been working since 2004 to help our wounded service men and women in hospitals along the east coast including those locally and at the VA Hospital in Northport. The Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior is only in Nassau County and is not affiliated with the national Wounded Warrior Project.
While Lynbrook firefighters hold their concert and block party, other Nassau fire departments hold Doo Wop shows, spaghetti dinners, golf outings, road races, motorcycle runs, and other fundraising events to benefit Operation Wounded Warrior. They have also participated in the building of new homes for the wounded.
In the previous ten years, Lynbrook’s firefighters have raised nearly $220,000 to benefit the wounded and their families.
Each Christmas, Lynbrook firefighters join other Nassau County volunteers in traveling to hospitals and rehabilitation units at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and Bethesda, Maryland, as well as at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, to bring Christmas to the wounded and their families.
In addition, wounded soldiers still receiving treatment at Fort Belvoir, and their families, come to Lynbrook for the concert and block party. The Rockville Centre Hotel on Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook donates rooms, as they have each year, for them.
There will be three bands playing during the concert, all of them donating their time and talents to the cause.
The cost of admission to the concert and block party is a $20 donation and food will be available free of charge. There will also be over 140 prizes raffled off thanks to the generosity of members of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce and many stores and shops in Lynbrook, and other major corporations who donate prizes.
Additionally, one of the sponsors, JetBlue Airways, is again continuing to support Lynbrook firefighter’s efforts by donating roundtrip tickets to anywhere they fly, which will also be raffled off separately that evening. Both the first and second prize is two round-trip tickets anywhere they fly while the third prize is a four-burner Black Stone Grill. That raffle cost is only $10.
The Wounded Warriors Concert and Block Party on Saturday, September 24th at Greis Park will be held from 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. inside and in front of the Recreation Center.
On that same day and prior to the concert and block party a Motorcycle Ride to support Our Wounded Warriors will kick off from the parking lot behind Connelly’s Station on Hempstead Avenue in Malverne. Bike registration begins and 11 a.m. at the parking lot and the ride to Captree State Park steps off at approximately 2 p.m. The riders will then return to Greis Park to open the concert and block party at 4 p.m. The cost is $25 for the ride and includes entrance to the concert.
There will also be a Bike Night for Wounded Warriors at the Broadway Tavern in Malverne on Wednesday, September 7 starting at 6 p.m. Those JetBlue raffle chances for September 24, will be sold at this event as will a 50/50.
“One hundred percent of the monies raised on September 7 and 24 will go to help our wounded warriors and their families through Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior,” Fire Chief Kelly said.
People seeking additional information about the Concert and Block Party on September 24th or care to contribute or donate should contact Ex-Chief Kevin Bien at 516-993-6074.
For information on the Motorcycle Ride prior to the concert, persons should contact ex-captain Patrick Curran at 516-805-6286 or Malverne FD ex-lieutenant Pat Darcy at 516-713-8881. Darcy should also be contacted for information about Bike Night at the Broadway Tavern on September 7th.
“I ask all residents and their friends to support this worthwhile cause, whether they attend the concert and block party or participate in motorcycle night or the ride, to help us make life a little easier for our wounded warriors and their families who have sacrificed so much for us,” Kelly said.
“We are more than happy and willing to help our fellow firefighters from Lynbrook in their efforts to help our wounded warriors through Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warrior,” Malverne Fire Chief Ernest Bohringer, said.
— Steve Grogan, Lynbrook Fire Department
