Fundraiser planned to honor memory of Jamison Novello

To recognize the anniversary of South Side High School student Jamison Novello’s death, her family and friends will host a fundraiser in the spring.

Jamison died by suicide at age 15 on March 22. The casino night fundraiser will be held at Knights of Columbus in Oceanside on March 13. Tickets are on sale now through Dec. 31.

Proceeds will go toward scholarships for students to attend Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan, where Jamison practiced. The rest will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit dedicated to mental health research, improving interventions, training clinicians in suicide prevention and advocating for policy to save lives.

“I want to support research and prevent [suicide] for someone else,” said Kim McGuigan, Jamison’s mother. “But she was more than that. Dancing was her dream, and she deserves to have that dream passed on.”

Since Jamison’s death, McGuigan has led efforts to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention, as well as gifting scholarships to dance students who share the same passion for dance that Jamison had.

In September, for what would have been Jamison’s 16th birthday, McGuigan and Jamison’s friends held a “Sweet 16 Bake Sale” and raised $8,200. McGuigan donated $4,000 of those funds to the Long Island Crisis Center in Jamison’s name and $4,200 to the Jamison Novello Scholarship Fund at Broadway Dance Center.

In addition, McGuigan and a group of Jamison’s loved ones walked on team “Dancing Queen” in the Out of the Darkness Walk at Jones Beach in October. They raised $4,250 for the AFSP.

To keep Jamison’s dancing spirit alive, McGuigan has handed out 10 scholarships totaling more than $50,000 to students in financial need to practice at Broadway Dance Center. A majority of those funds were raised on a GoFundMe page started shortly after Jamison’s death. With the upcoming fundraiser, McGuigan hopes to keep the scholarships coming.

“It keeps her name and impact that she had here ongoing,” said Allie Beach, the youth programming director at Broadway Dance Center. “She was a very bright light and very adored here by so many teachers and students. This is a great way to continue to remember and honor her year after year.”

Scholarship applicants submit a short essay about why they want to dance at the studio, along with a report card to demonstrate their passion and strong work ethic, Beach said.

The March fundraiser, “I Hope You Dance,” will include drinks and appetizers from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., with Ace and Jack Casino providing roulette, craps, money wheel and black jack tables.

In addition, there will be raffles for prizes such as a Coach pocketbook, a Yeti Hopper Cooler, Long Island Adventure Park gift pack, KitchenAid mixer, a couples massage gift card, a Samsung QLED TV and iPad Pro 11. There will also be 20 different baskets up for grabs.

For tickets to “I Hope You Dance,” visit bit.ly/hopeudance.