Meet The Charity: Luke's Purpose Of Commack Financially Helps Families That Lose A Child

COMMACK, NY — Local charities are the unsung heroes of our communities. Nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations strive to create lasting change and positively impact the lives of those around them.

Some people start organizations as a way to cope with grief, some see an issue they want to tackle, and some want to bring lasting change. Sometimes, all those reasons apply.

Patch wants to highlight your local charity and connect it with community members who want to help and do good, so that way, more people can benefit. Here is just one of many charities doing terrific work in your community.

What is your name?

Ashley Meyveci

What is the name of your charity?

Luke's Purpose

What is your position within your charity?

President

What community is your organization based in

Commack, NY and we service all of Long Island/New York.

Link to your website

www.lukespurpose.org

What is your mission?

Our mission is to provide families with financial assistance after they have suffered the loss of a child. We give a donation to help cover the costs of funeral and cemetery expenses, medical bills, mental heath fees, lost wages, and any unexpected finances that come from the loss of a child.

What does your charity do to further its mission? Please list examples.

We are relatively new, and right now, we host fundraisers and events to raise money, hold virtual fundraisers, and we sell merchandise. We are also trying to make direct connections with other local charities, hospitals, funeral homes, and other organizations so parents know that these resources are available to them.

What inspired you to start your charity?

Our son, Luke, passed away very suddenly and tragically on October 14th - two days before his 3rd birthday. My husband and I were completely overwhelmed with trauma and grief, we were not even thinking of the costs of the funeral and the medical bills we were about to be burdened with. Our family, friends, and community quickly rallied to raise money for us, so we were able to place Luke in a beautiful resting place. We wanted the best for him, even in his passing.

About a month after he passed, my husband and I knew we wanted to create a foundation in honor of him to not only continue his name and legacy, but to help other grieving families receive the support we selflessly received when Luke died. Not only are we providing financial support for these families, but we are connecting them with a community of loss parents, providing comfort and guiding them to further support and resources for themselves and their family.

Luke was truly a beautiful soul, he only carried joy and happiness with him. We honor him every day by doing this work and sharing his loving and generous memory.

How can people help you accomplish your organization's mission or get involved in events?

Right now we are looking for ways to bring awareness to our organization. We would love for parents to know that this resource is available to them, so it's one less thing they have to worry abut after this immense loss. We are always looking for volunteers to help at our events, raise money to give back to families, and any direct connections people have to other organizations and hospitals in the area.

What is the most memorable moment you've had since starting your organization?

We helped a family last year who had lost their young son after a very complicated heart surgery. The story really touched me because it hit so close to home with the similarities between Luke and this little boy. We sent the donation to the family and the mom had reached out to me directly to thank us for the help. We found out we had so much in common - we have daughters about the same age, the same breed of dogs, and both of our sons are buried at Pinelawn Cemetery. She has become one of my most dear friends and I believe Luke brought us together, and our boys are together watching over their sisters.

We had an incredibly successful event last year, Christmas in July. We raised over $50,000 and we were floored by the support we received. We were able to help 10 families in the month of July, and we couldn't believe that so many families were suffering like we were, but we were also able to help them. It was truly a bittersweet moment.

What else would you like people to know about your charity?

Along with helping loss families, we try to give back to our community as much as we can. We ran a toy drive at our Christmas in July event and dropped off toys at Stony Brook University Hospital, Angela's House, Kidz Need More, Pumpkin Patch Nursery School, and the Commack Fire Department. We also partnered with the Angel of Hope program run with Angela's House at Eisenhower Park, and we are now placing memorial bricks for all of the children we have helped. We send out care packages to our families and we also include crochet hearts made by another loss mom, who runs the Love From Lydia program out of New Jersey.

What are your organization's social media pages or handles?
Instagram @lukespurpose; Facebook @lukespurpose

Do you help run a charity?

Nominate it here or share this link with someone who does.