Huntington's Blue Line Deli Raises $4K For Northport's The Chloe Belle Foundation

HUNTINGTON, NY — Blue Line Deli raised $4,000 for The Chloe Belle Foundation through its raffle.

New York Islanders memorabilia, a gift card for chocolaty creations, a spice basket, books, and a Tory Burch wallet were some of many items collected by the owner of the deli, Donald Rosner. The grand prize was an Islanders jersey signed by the entire 2023-24 roster, provided by the franchise itself.

The money will be used to further the Northport charity's mission of bringing joy to children and young adults fighting cancer or mourning the loss of a loved one to the disease, said Remi Lindberg, president of the foundation.

The foundation was founded in memory of Chloe Lindberg, a Northport resident who was only 26 when she died of acute myeloid leukemia in January 2021. She fought the cancer for 13 months after she was diagnosed at age 25.

While Chloe is at the heart of everything The Chloe Belle Foundation does, Remi Lindberg said this fundraiser was in honor of Rosner's late mother, LeeAnn. LeeAnn died of uterine cancer that spread to her lungs and brain on Aug. 2, 2021. She was a cherished mother and beloved grandmother.

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Lindberg said her initial reaction to hearing $4K was raised was a "rushed mix of positive emotions."

"I was astonished, overjoyed, ecstatic and just completely and utterly grateful," Lindberg told Patch. "I know that Blue Line Deli, Donnie and his family are incredible people who are loved and respected in the community so I imagined that their customers and friends would support any cause that they got behind. I also knew how much work, time and effort Donnie put into this fundraiser. With those things combined, I knew it would be extremely successful but it truly exceeded anything I had imagined."

Rosner said he is "super stoked" about how the fundraiser went.

"Anything we can do to bring smiles to kids’ faces is what it’s all about," he said.

One of Rosner's favorite things about how the raffle went was the amount of people who volunteered merchandise or goods for it.

The Killer Cook donated a spice basket, Sean Conn donated Islanders-inspired art, author Stacey Agdern donated signed copies of her book, "The Dating Contract," Ashleigh Campbell donated a $50 gift card to her confections business, SweetLeigh, and Steve Scholz donated Islanders memorabilia. Many others pitched in, too.

Lindberg said it was "the coolest thing" that the New York Islanders got involved by raffling off a team-signed jersey.

"I was amazed that they so generously donated such special items," she said. "The items alone were so wonderful but with the addition of the signatures, they were extraordinary. Any Islanders fan would dream of owning those pieces. I'm so honored that they believed in our mission enough to go out of their way to contribute and support. We feel lucky that we have been a part of this. It will be a highlight for the foundation forever."

Lindberg said she and her family are now Islanders fans for life.

Rosner said he is "no doubt" a lifelong fan of The Chloe Belle Foundation.

Lindberg said that since the fundraiser was in memory of LeeAnn, she wanted to use the proceeds on something special.

"As people, our passions, interests, hobbies, and desires are what makes us who we are," she said. "I believe to honor someone after death is to take the beauty of who they were on Earth and let the world know/experience it. It's extra special when it is giving back/helping others. I think it's making a statement that 'My person was so impactful on the lives of others, and let's all remember that.' It's a tribute to that person and all that they were, so why wouldn't we do it in their way?"

When Rosner was telling Lindberg about his mother and her life, he mentioned how LeeAnn loved chocolate and created her own business. Her favorite treat she would make was her chocolate-covered popcorn, "Drizzle."

Lindberg decided she wanted to use the proceeds from the Blue Line Deli fundraiser to not only further The Chloe Belle Foundation's mission of bringing joy to people battling cancer, but add a "LeeAnn twist" — or drizzle.

At the end of April, Stony Brook University Hospital's cancer center, blood bank and bone marrow transplant floors will receive 300 bags of chocolate-coated popcorn during Patient Appreciation Week from the collaboration between Blue Line Deli and The Chloe Belle Foundation, Lindberg said.

"This checks the making people happy part of our mission," she said. "I hope that Donnie and his family feel LeeAnn in this, because it is important to me."

Rosner said he was literally speechless about the gesture. LeeAnn, he said, basically invented the concept of popcorn "Drizzle." Rosner was no older than 12 when LeeAnn began using part of the family's basement for food production. One day, she brought her son a bag of chocolate-covered popcorn.

"She was like, 'This is my new thing. I’m going to call it 'Drizzle.'' She sold so much of it. It was her number-one selling product. She went from the basement of her house to opening [Any Occasion] in Farmingdale, right on Main Street."

She made so much "Drizzle" that Rosner would go to the store and help her make it.

"Remi doing this; we didn’t talk about that," Rosner said. "She did that completely on her own. We had a brief conversation about my mom, who she was and what she liked to do. That came up. I told her a brief thing about it. The fact that she thought, 'That’s what we should do to bring kids in the hospital joy.' It literally left me speechless. That just goes to show you how special and beautiful of a person [Lindberg] is. I’m forever grateful for her."

Rosner said in every conversation he had with Lindberg as they prepared for the raffle, her sweetness and kindness shone through.

"You can literally feel through email how amazing she is," he said. "Nothing but good things to say about her. Her doing that absolutely rocked me. I’m super appreciative to her for doing that. And just for letting me include my mom in with her sister. These things are a little bit touchy of a situation. You just never know how comfortable people are when talking about it or doing things about it or teaming up. Everybody’s situation is different with this. She was super open about it. It was awesome. It was awesome to work with her."

Lindberg thanked Blue Line Deli, Rosner, and his team. The amount of work and love they put in, she said, is "indescribable."

"This has been such a memorable experience," she said. "The effort they put in behind the scenes in making this so successful is so admirable. This fundraiser was ALL Donnie and Blue Line Deli and we’re just in awe of how good of people they are and how selfless they were over these weeks in making this fundraiser the greatest one ever! His philanthropic support for the community is inspiring. Thank you for choosing us and bringing us into your amazing business. And lastly, thank you for giving us the privilege to honor and remember your beautiful mother, LeeAnn, through this partnership. LeeAnn is continuing to make an impact on Earth. It has been an honor to get to know them."

Rosner thanked Lindberg, The Chloe Belle Foundation and "all the amazing people" who contributed to the raffle. He said he's learned a lot since opening Blue Line Deli in 2020.

"If there is one thing that I take away from everything that I’ve learned, it’s that when you come across people like Remi, it gives you the drive and inspires you to do so much more, and better, and learn, so that when next time you do something like this, you do it even better and more efficient," Rosner said. "I’m just super grateful to all the people along the way to this point who took me under their wing and showed me how much good people can do when they come together for a cause. I hope that even one person was inspired by the raffle that we did or any of the other things that we’ve done and makes them want to do something for somebody special in their life. Kind of like a pay it forward kind of thing."

Lindberg also thanked Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner of Islanders podcast "Hockey Night In New York" for hosting the raffle winner event.

She urged everyone to stop in at Blue Line Deli, at 719 W. Jericho Turnpike, Huntington.

"They not only have incredible and delicious food but the people are obviously amazing!" she said. "It’s a no brainer to support such an amazing business and wonderful people who go above and beyond in giving back to their community!"

Lindberg also thanked everyone who purchased a ticket or donated items to the raffle.

"If there was a more powerful phrase than 'thank you,' I would use that here. We are forever grateful for your generosity and support. Your contribution has not only honored LeeAnn and Chloe, but will directly go to people who have cancer or recently lost a loved one to cancer in the hopes of making their lives brighter and easier. Thank you for believing in us and our cause and for rallying together for our mission. We love you so much."

Lindberg said she is thinking about a second installment of the partnership between Blue Line Deli and The Chloe Belle Foundation.