Brull Foundation holding fundraiser

On Nov. 8, the Rockville Centre-based Tommy Brull Foundation will be holding its seventh annual fundraiser to help expand its surfing program for special needs children, among other worthy causes.

The Tommy Brull Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of those with physical, mental and emotional challenges in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The foundation was launched in 2008 and is dedicated to honoring the life of Rockville Centre resident and former Camp ANCHOR counselor Tommy Brull. Since its inception, the group has raised over to $150,000 for multiple charities.

This year’s fundraiser, which will be held at Cannon’s Blackthorn, located at 49 N. Village Ave., from 4 to 7 p.m., with an after-party following. There is a suggested donation of $30 at the door, which gets participants free food, drink specials and access to many different raffles.

The money raised will go to many different charities and individuals on Long Island. Foremost among them is the surf program that the foundation runs at Camp ANCHOR, which is the Town of Hempstead’s camp for special-needs children located at Lido Beach.

“We got 150 kids in the water this year over a two-week period,” said Martin Brull, Tommy’s brother and the founder of the foundation. “Demand was so high we’re trying to increase it to six weeks.”

Some of the funds will also go to Brendan Wagner, a Long Beach resident who was paralyzed in a car accident on Christmas. The foundation is looking to purchase a special computer for Wagner that will allow him to type and use the Internet with only his eyes.

There are also many other special-needs programs, many of which are based in Rockville Centre, that the Tommy Brull Foundation is supporting. They include the Challenger Baseball League, which is a special division of the Rockville Centre Little League for children with developmental and physical challenges; Connor and Friends, a special-needs play group at the Rockville Centre Recreation Center; the Centre Stage Drama Program, which allows special-needs students to work with buddies to create plays and musicals; Dragon’s Eye Martial Arts, a special-needs karate program that focuses on teaching kids to follow directions, impulse control and self-pride.

The foundation is also looking to fund the creation of a special-needs play group in Island Park, which is being created through a collaboration between Island Park residents and high school students.