By Nicole Falco
³We have had an explosion of needs from the people of Valley Stream,² said the Rev. Gerald Cestare, Blessed Sacrament pastor. ³Seeing a marked jump in those needs, we¹ve decided to renovate our offices for Social Ministries.²
To raise money for the proposed renovations, the Blessed Sacrament Fund-raising Committee, headed up by Sister Sheila Ferraz, director of Music Ministries, has planned a fun-filled weekend. Blessed Sacrament Festival Weekend, June 24, from 1 to 10 p.m., and 25, from 1:30 to 8 p.m., offers the community two opportunities to enjoy good food, shopping, games, storytelling, entertainment and the chance at exciting raffle prizes, including two roundtrip tickets to Rome or Milan and $500 American Express Gift Card, two roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines, six tickets to Hershey Park, an overnight stay for two in Atlantic City and Broadway show packages.
³We have good food. We have rides. We have entertainment both on Saturday and Sunday,² said Ferraz. ³We have vendors coming each day. We have memorabilia for sale. We have something for everyone.²
All of the activities will take place in the McKeon Avenue parking lot and will spill out onto Mckeon Avenue, which will be closed to vehicles during the festivities. Saturday¹s excitement will be capped off by ³Fr. Jerry¹s Follies,² a two-hour vaudeville show featuring nearly a dozen music and comedy skits performed by members of the Pastoral Team and the Blessed Sacrament Youth Group. Tickets for the show, written by Cestare and Youth Minister Joanne Gobrick, who is also Cestare¹s secretary, are being sold at the rectory, 201 N. Central Ave., and after Sunday Mass. The suggested donation per ticket is $5.
³One of the things we have learned is the best way to fund-raise is to bring people together to have fun and support us with the gift of their treasure,² Cestare said.
Sunday¹s activities will culminate in the announcement of the raffle prize winners, but the day will also include entertainment that celebrates the community¹s diversity. The afternoon will feature Irish Step Dancing, a Peruvian dance performance, a performance by a Fillipino singer and more.
More than 100 parishioners have lent their time and talents to planning the upcoming fund-raiser, which has taken about 10 months to organize. In addition to the festival, money raised from past events ‹ a cabaret night last December and a Mardi Gras dinner/dance last March ‹ is going toward the renovations.
³I think the people in this community take great pride in seeing how their support is used,² Cestare said. ³When they are able to say, ŒWe worked so hard on this. We raised so much money and see what we did.¹ When they know where there money is going, they are very excited.²
If all goes well, renovations should begin this summer. In an effort to make the Social Ministries office more accessible to the people it serves, it will swap places with the meeting rooms that are currently located on the first floor. Social Ministries is now located on the second floor and can only be accessed through the rectory. That too will change. A separate entrance on North Central Avenue is planned.
³It will make work more efficient,² said Judy Miccio, director of Social Ministries, of the proposed changes. ³It will also give the clients who come here some privacy.²
In addition, funds raised will go toward renovating the food pantry. And money raised by the sale of tickets to ³Fr. Jerry¹s Follies² will be earmarked specifically for the creation of a full-time thrift shop in an optimal location. Right now the thrift shop is only open part-time and is located in the rectory basement.
³If the last year is any indication of the kinds of needs people in Valley Stream have, then I think we have to be prepared for that,² Cestare said. ³I think we already do a tremendous job of serving people¹s needs now, but I think this will help us serve them better.
³They may be well-hidden, but they are here,² Cestare said. ³They are not people who are looking for something for nothing. These are people will real needs. Sometimes they are short-term, sometimes they are long-term.²
Miccio said that in the last couple weeks, six new families have sought help. And Social Ministries reach stretches beyond parishioners. All residents, regardless of faith, can seek help there. Blessed Sacrament serves one half of the community and Holy Name of Mary serves the other.
Social Ministries provides food baskets to shut-ins during the holidays. Its food pantry is stocked year round to accommodate families in need. Clothes and counseling are provided through Social Ministries. Miccio and a team of volunteers sponsor a ³Giving Tree² at Christmas, where parishioners are asked to buy gifts for those in need, a back-to-school program that provides school supplies as well as a gift card to a shoe and clothing store for each child. Periodically, the office organizes stroke and blood pressure screenings and Brown Bag Pill Days, where residents can meet with a pharmacist from Mercy Medical Center to make sure none of medications they are taking conflict. Recently, a bereavement group was formed.
³I have a tremendous amount of support from the pastor and volunteers,² Miccio said. ³Without all of that, this wouldn¹t happen. It can be stressful at times...but this is not like coming to work. This is like coming home.²
Comments about this story? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
