The Empire State Walk may be over, but the donations are far from finished.
Following Don Pupke’s return home to Malverne after walking more than 750 miles, the equivalent of the distance from Buffalo to Montauk, an anonymous donor has nearly doubled the fundraiser’s total to $60,000.
In July, Pupke, 66, set out from Buffalo on a 36-day journey across New York to raise money for American Legion Post 44 in Malverne (“One step at a time for American Legion Post 44,” July 30). His initial goal was $25,000, but his walk ultimately surpassed it, raising $30,000. Pupke finished the trek Aug. 7, but the fundraising continued.
“People love to be involved in a cause that’s a really good cause,” he said, “and people understand in Malverne that the Malverne American Legion is an important part of the village.”
Pupke had thought about making the cross-state walk for years before deciding to use the challenge as a fundraiser for the legion. The idea took shape after he volunteered as a poll worker at the legion hall during the 2024 presidential election and saw some of the improvements the building needed.
His connection to Post 44, however, goes back a generation. Pupke’s parents met at a high school dance there before graduating from Valley Stream Central High School in 1949. Years later, he joined the organization as the son of a veteran, giving the building he set out to support a personal connection to his family’s history.
The post has long served as a gathering place in Malverne, hosting meetings, community events and elections. Pupke’s fundraising effort combined that community history with his own longtime connection to the village.
Donations for the American Legion continued to come in following his walk, because he had also built a social media presence on Facebook. Each day he recorded a video update about his journey while providing a history lesson about the communities on his route.
“People related to the history portion a great deal, and they enjoyed it,” he said. “People enjoy history and love to know about the history of the places where they live.”
With the walk finished, Pupke continued making historical videos for an audience that had grown to more than 3,000 followers. He has since visited numerous sites while sharing their history with his audience.
Last month, he met the man who would become the anonymous donor, a prominent Army veteran, when he walked into a restaurant and struck up a conversation with him. “I met a man who happened to be a very wealthy man, who is charitable, and we fell into a conversation,” he said. “I told him about the walk that I did and he asked me how much money I raised, and he looked at me and said, ‘I will match that.’”
The additional contribution extended the impact of a fundraiser that had already received support from residents, longtime friends and others who followed Pupke’s journey.
Shortly afterward, the Legion received a $30,000 check in the mail. Finance officer Donald Brady said the combined donations will help the organization restore its nearly 100-year-old building with several planned improvement projects, including repairs to the kitchen, the men’s and women’s bathrooms and the basement.
“He decided to do this great, tremendous effort,” Brady said of Pupke. “Now that we do have significant funds, we can go ahead and plan some of those improvements to the post.”
Pupke’s fundraising effort also continued his long involvement in Malverne. A village resident for over three decades, he has served as deputy mayor, police commissioner and fire commissioner and has coached Little League baseball and lacrosse.
His Aug. 7 return to Malverne drew dozens of residents to Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s, where members of Post 44, village officials and the Malverne Fire Department gathered to welcome him home. The celebration marked the end of his physical journey, but the additional donations in the weeks that followed extended the fundraiser’s impact.
