By EVAN NEMEROFF
Sydney Epstein, a 12-year-old Woodmere Middle School student, wanted to make a difference.
The seventh-grader and her family hosted Pancakes for Parkinson’s last Sunday in honor of her grandfather, Stewart Epstein, 69, who has been living with Parkinson’s disease since the early 1990s. The event, held at the Woodmere firehouse on Irving Place, was Sydney’s bat mitzvah project.
“It feels good helping people that have Parkinson’s,” Sydney said. “My grandpa struggles, and having this event made me feel like I’m helping people with the disease to find a cure.”
Nearly 5 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s disease, a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder characterized by symptoms that typically progress from mild tremors to complete physical incapacitation.
“It took a special and caring person, my granddaughter Sydney, to think of her grandfather and honor him by performing this mitzvah project,” Stewart Epstein said.
The Epstein family came up with the idea for the event almost a year ago. “The idea for this was brainstormed by my entire family,” Sydney said. “We were figuring out what to do and we decided that an event for Parkinson’s was the right thing for my grandpa.”
They began receiving donations about two months ago. “Even before the event, my family was able to raise $2,000 from people that couldn’t show up,” Sydney said. “It’s great knowing that we are all contributing to help find a cure for this disease.”
The proceeds from the event were donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Tickets were $5 for children and $10 for adults, and there were pancakes as well as assorted fruit, cakes and other desserts. Much of the food and decorations for the event were donated by Debbi Flowers, Prestige Caterers, Key Food, Walls Bakery and Bagelo.
Another part of the fundraiser was a raffle — $5 for one ticket, $10 for three tickets, $20 for eight tickets and $40 for 25 tickets. The prizes included a Hollywood Atrium Club membership for two months, a Trader Joe’s gift bag, a gift basket from Baskets by Expressions, lunch for two at Mother Kelly’s, dinner for two at Friendlier Pizza, gift certificates at Max & Gino’s, Pampered Professional, A Beautiful Girl, Takesushi, Trinkets, Literally Everything and Mezzanote, golf shirts and balls from Tour GCX and pilates packages from Body Reformers Pilates Studio.
Brette Steinberg, a family friend of the Epsteins’, was happy to win one of the Body Reformers prizes, but bought the raffle tickets to support a good cause. “I think it’s really important to teach our kids to know what it means to give to charity,” Steinberg said. “I felt proud donating money to such a lovely foundation, and it was great to see the entire community come out and support Sydney.”
At least 200 people attended the event and made donations, which were estimated to total more than $9,000. “It was a terrific event and everyone had a good time with the raffles,” said Jill Rosenberg, a friend of the Epsteins’ who came from Huntington. “This educated people about Parkinson’s, and it was a good mitzvah project which presented a strong message to people. I really enjoyed myself and wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Sydney said she was very happy with the turnout, although she was extremely nervous before the event. “At first I was really scared nobody would come,” she said. “When I saw everyone, like my friends and my gym trainer, I was shocked and it was really nice to see them all come out and support me.”
Amy Epstein, Sydney’s mother, said she felt that the fundraiser wouldn’t have been such a success if not for everyone who participated. “It’s just great to see the community become involved with this event and help this cause,” Amy said. “We are really happy for all of the donations, and appreciate everything that these places contributed and are thankful for all of the gifts.”
The Epstein family is hoping to make the event an annual one. “We are considering doing this annually because it is for a great cause,” said Ross Epstein, Sydney’s father. “All proceeds are going to a terrific cause, and people live and learn from participating in events like this. It’s sometimes difficult to teach values this day and age, but participating in an event for this cause helps a person.”
After the event, Sydney went outside the firehouse to say goodbye to her grandpa. “I could see tears in his eyes and he was so excited for everything that I did today,” she said. “He was so proud of me.”
For more information about the Pancakes for Parkinson’s event, contact Amy Epstein at (516) 317-8626.
Comments about this story? ENemeroff@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
