By Dana Klosner-Wehner
Two hundred people were nominated for the honor.
The Make a Difference award recognizes those who don’t want to be recognized, said Town Supervisor Kate Murray. But these people, Murray added, are most deserving of recognition.
Phyllis and Lenny Masi, who attend a prayer group held in Anthony Ciuffo’s home, nominated Ciuffo. All three are members of the St. Catherine of Sienna Parish.
“This man does so much for everybody,” Phyllis Masi said of Ciuffo. “He donates to the poor, he visits sick people in the hospital, he started the Challenger Program” — a baseball program for disabled children. “He is a wonderful man. He is patient, kind and generous.”
Ciuffo also runs the Little League program in Franklin Square. He started as an assistant manager in 1975, when his oldest son was 8. “I became involved in running it,” Ciuffo said. “I’m in charge of District 29, which is 17 towns from Elmont to Montauk. I organize and oversee all the tournaments.”
He said that being involved in Little League is very rewarding. “It’s helping to shape the lives and the future of our youth,” Ciuffo said. He started the Challenger Program to provide a Little League experience for children who are physically and mentally challenged. “I saw that there was a need,” he said. “It’s wonderful that we were able to get it going. The real heroes are the volunteers who run it.”
The Challenger Program also has its rewards. “When it first started,” Ciuffo recalled, “one of the Challenger children said, ‘You mean I could wear a uniform like anybody else?’”
Some of the children are grown now, Ciuffo said, but they still remember him.
He also founded and directed the Franklin Square Athletic Association Karate Program. “There was a need for children to learn the attributes and discipline that a sport like karate can give,” Ciuffo explained. But karate lessons can be expensive, so, in 1979, in conjunction with the Willow Road School, Ciuffo started a program that charged just $3 a lesson and a $10 registration fee. The program eventually grew to about 50 children. There are now classes every Friday night from October to May, and the program is run solely by volunteers.
“There has to be a fire in the belly and [you] know that you’re helping shape the future of the children,” Ciuffo said. “Karate shapes character and builds discipline. There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from helping the children.”
Ciuffo is also a eucharistic minister, and gives Communion to the elderly, sick and infirm. On Sundays he visits the sick at Franklin Hospital.
Ciuffo said he never expected to receive a Make a Difference award. “I humbly accept it, and gladly share it with all those volunteers that keep the programs going,” he said. “One person could not have done it all by himself. The volunteers are the unsung heroes.”
Kerri Kiefer has raised over $200,000 in honor of her brother, FDNY firefighter Michael Kiefer, who died on Sept. 11. She has donated the money to the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation and the Fire Family Transport Foundation, and it is used by the Burn Center Foundation to fund programs such as the Skin Bank and to send children to burn camp. The Transport Foundation provides transportation for firefighters and their families to doctors’ appointments and to funerals.
“We do two fundraisers a year,” Kiefer said. “In June we do the [Michael Kiefer] Walk/Run, and in October we do ‘Back in the Day with Mike,’” a dance at which Johnny Maestro plays.
“It takes a lot of effort and energy to do what she does,” said Gwen Curran, director of the burn center. “It’s very personal. It’s a really tight, strong family.”
Kiefer also started a Michael Kiefer scholarship fund which offers firefighters grants for continuing education, Curran said.
“I think the award is great, and I’m very honored to receive it,” Kiefer said, adding that she does the fundraising “in honor of my brother. And receiving this award gets the word out about my brother.”
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