Verona Pub Helps Build Playground in Memory of 7-Year-Old Sandy Victim

Building 26 playgrounds — one in memory of each child and educator killed in December in Newtown, Conn. — is the mission of The Sandy Ground Project. A local pub is helping to achieve that goal.

The Verona Inn in Verona will host a fundraiser for TheSandyGroundProject.org on Wed., June 26, from 5 to midnight.

A donation at the door of $26 and 10% of the evening’s proceeds will go toward building a playground in Normandy Beach in memory of 7-year-old Chase Kowalski, explained William Crockett, a bartender at the Verona Inn and a professional firefighter in Kearny who is organizing the event.

Chase is one of 20 students and six educators from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown who died in a mass shooting on Dec. 14, 2012.

"The funds from this event will go directly toward [his] playground, which will be in Normandy Beach, where Chase's grandfather has a home, and has hosted his family many times," Crockett said.

The Sandy Ground Project was inspired by the violence in Newtown, but is also an effort to help restore areas of the East Coast devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The non-profit organization was founded by Bill Lavin, president of the New Jersey Firefighter’s Mutual Benevolent Association (NJFMBA).

Crockett said he heard about The Sandy Project from the firefighter's union and wanted to organize a fundraiser.

"My local union in Kearny, we've been charged with building [the] playground in Normandy Beach," he said. "I think it's a great cause."

So far three playgrounds have been completed in New Jersey and Connecticut and the groundbreaking for a fourth in memory of Dylan Hockley took place on June 7 in Westport, Conn.

There will be live entertainment and New Jersey beer featured at the Verona Inn, including N.J. Beer Co., Kane Brewing, Carton Brewing and Flying Fish Brewery. Admission includes a complimentary drink.

Entertainment will include local acts O'Chella, John Wells and Mike Engle, as well as Patrick Walsh, a teenager from Verona and employee at the Verona Inn who will warm up the crowd on the piano, Crockett said.

Donations can also be made by emailing bill@veronainn.com or visiting TheSandyGroundProject.org.

Vist the official website for more fundraising events.