By TIFFANY RAZZANO
The volunteers brought the less fortunate the coal, food and clothing they could not afford. They even helped some pay their rent.
"At the time, so many people were unemployed here in the village that they got together and took care of them until things got better," said Murray's son, former Mayor Eugene Murray. "His good example inspired me."
Gene Murray was so inspired that in 1986, while sitting on the Board of Trustees, a year before he was elected mayor, he started the Rockville Centre Community Fund, with the goal of helping village residents the same way his father's group of volunteers had. "We try to assist people as best we can," Murray said. People can come to him, confidentially, with requests for help. The village also works closely with local organizations such as St. Agnes Parish Outreach, St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities and United Presbyterian Ministries. The Community Fund has distributed roughly $1.7 million in aid since its inception.
Murray turned to his friends Jeff Greenfield; Bill Seward, then the village attorney; and Tony Cancellieri, then the village administrator, for assistance. They helped create the group's sole fund-raising event, the Mayor's Golf and Tennis Classis and dinner. Since the first outing, in 1987, the event has raised nearly $1 million.
"When we started 20 years ago, there weren't a lot of charity golf outings," Greenfield said. "We thought it was a good way to bring everyone together for a social day and to have a positive benefit for a charity."
Over the years, the outing grew to the point where it had to be moved to bigger golf clubs - from Rockville Links to Middle Bay in Oceanside, and finally to Seawane in Hewlett Harbor - to accommodate more golfers as well as the non-golfers who come just for the dinner. Each year the event attracts a full field of 144 golfers, Greenfield said, and close to 200, including the golfers, attend the dinner. This year's event, honoring Cancellieri, will be held on Sept. 24.
The Community Fund collects money in other ways. Donors interested in helping their neighbors often simply write checks to the fund. Local organizations holding their own fund-raisers sometimes send a portion of what they earn to the fund. Family and friends of those who die can donate money in their honor. Recently, many of the events honoring Murray as he prepared to step down as mayor raised money for the fund.
Murray, who has remained close to the fund through the years, says that it has helped a wide variety of people in a range of challenging circumstances: from college students who need textbooks and transportation to senior citizens on fixed incomes who are in need of a new refrigerator or roof.
Two years ago, after Hurricane Katrina, the Community Fund, with the help of the Rockville Centre School District and St. Agnes, assisted a family displaced by the storm that had found its way to the village. The fund helped them pay their rent for a year.
Last October, a pregnant local woman couldn't afford a hospital stay when it was time for her to give birth, and the Community Fund came to her aid. When the baby was born, it was missing several organs, and was in desperate need of several serious and expensive surgeries. Again, the fund lent a hand. "It's a very successful story, and we're very proud to be able to help her," Murray said.
Like the village itself, the fund was put to the test on Sept. 11, 2001. Rockville Centre lost close to 50 residents that day. But others stepped up, helping to care for the victims' family members by way of the Community Fund. "Bills were coming in and all of a sudden, the checks stopped," Murray said. "So, until assistance from the Red Cross and other agencies were able to support them, village residents came in and raised over $1 million to allow us to take care of these people." The fund assisted more than 20 families that had lost loved ones on 9/11.
"The village was able to respond faster than anybody else," said Mayor Mary Bossart, who sat on the Community Fund board at the time. "... This put us ahead of other communities who had nothing in place, because [Murray] had already thought of this a long, long time ago."
Today, 21 years after the fund was founded and 20 years since the first Golf & Tennis Outing, the fund has grown unexpectedly, taking on a life of its own. It is synonymous with Rockville Centre, the only community in the area with such a vehicle for assisting its residents.
"I have always felt strongly about the need for something like the Community Fund in Rockville Centre," said Cancellieri. "I have just been overwhelmed over the years by the good work that has been done by the fund. ... This is just another example of what separates us from other communities. ... Initially, one would think Rockville Centre is an affluent community that would not have a need for such a thing, but that's not true. There are always people in need. I'm amazed it's been able to run for over 20 years and raise as much money as it has."
"Tip O'Neill said, 'All politics is local,'" Greenfield said, referring to the late Speaker of the House of Representatives. "But when it comes to charity, I think the Rockville Centre Community Fund is so important because there's no charity that's more local, helping out Rockville Centre residents, with no overhead charges, than the Community Fund."
Bossart has already pledged her allegiance to the fund, saying she hopes it continues "for a very long time."
"Government can't do all the work, in terms of social services," Bossart said. "This fund allows Rockville Centre the flexibility to help people locally who need the assistance. That's the beauty of the program."
All who are involved in the program agree that the fund would not have been possible without Murray, who said he plans to continue working closely with the fund - and remains humble about it. "We are very pleased, because all of our residents and businesses support this fund," Murray said. "Without them, we would be nowhere. It's a great effort on the part of all the people in this village. We could never do it alone. It's a joint effort of everyone involved."
Comments about this story? TRazzano@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 221.
