Meet The Charity: Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation Of LI Supports Community

FARMINGDALE, 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?

Caitlin DiSclafani

What is the name of your charity?

Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation

What is your position within your charity?

I am a board member.

What community is your organization based in?

We are based on Long Island.

Link to your website.

www.helpinghandsli.org

What is your mission?

Helping Hands is the non-profit branch of L.I. Adventureland that supports the Long Island community in increasing awareness about local issues, supporting local initiatives, and providing educational resources for community residents.

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

• Annual scholarship program (set to award $65,000 in scholarships this year).
• Annual Grant Program supporting Long Island non-profits.
• $50,000 donated to Long Island teachers through the Clear the List Program.
• Over $10,000 in toys and food donated to the Town of Babylon Food Pantry and Toys for Tots.
• Multi-year pledges with Good Samaritan Hospital, Long Island Harvest, and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

What inspired you to start your charity?

Adventureland's Helping Hands Foundation was created in 2013 with the goal of helping Long Island reach its potential. Tony Gentile, one of the founding fathers of Adventureland, always wanted to give back to the Long Island community, and this foundation was created in his memory to do just that.

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

You can help support us by following us on social media and talking about us to your friends and neighbors. Adventureland has such a strong and rich history on Long Island, and so often we hear that people didn’t know we had a foundation — the more people know about us the more we can help!

Attending our annual fundraiser held every September is also a great way to learn about us while also learning how we can help other nonprofits reach their goals.

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

The first time we delivered food to the Town of Baylon Food Pantry was incredible — we walked into a room of nearly bare shelves, and when we left they were overflowing. We donate 120 turkeys and Thanksgiving baskets to that pantry every year, and it warms our hearts that families in need can depend on our donation year after year to ensure their families can make happy memories during the holiday season. Now when the pantry runs low on supplies, they know they can call us, and we’ll be there to stock their shelves.

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

Like Adventureland, Helping Hands is a family-run organization. We are constantly looking for new ways to support the families and nonprofits in our community. Creating and awarding scholarships was the first dream of Helping Hands, and with over $265,000 in scholarship funds awarded to date, we are thrilled to have had that dream come true for so many years. Now we look to ways to continue to support of Long Islanders. Through our annual pledges and our grant program, we hope to become a viable resource for other nonprofits in our area.

What are your organization's social media pages or handles?

Instagram: @HelpingHandsLI