'LI Wings It Forward' Monday To Thank Westhampton Brush Fire Heroes

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island eateries are teaming up Monday with two words for the scores of heroes who raced to tackle the recent Westhampton brush fires — "Thank you."

To that end, Alyssa Guidice, known to many as the administrator of the Dine-LI Facebook page, has joined with Town Of Islip councilman and founder of the Bay Shore restaurant committee Mike McElwee, as well as Joshua Soto of @firefoodsonly, for the "LI Wings It Forward" event.

Known for the LI Pizza Strong fundraisers, Guidice said LI Wings It Forward will take place on Monday, April 7, when "every bite counts."

A full 20 percent of all wing sales (bone-in, boneless and cauliflower) at participating locations will go directly to the dozens of fire and EMS departments whobravely battled the blaze on the East End of Long Island recently.

A full list of participating eateries is posted below.

"Let’s come together as a community to give back to our local heroes!" she said.

Although a family's efforts to make s'mores was said to be the possible cause of the fires, Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore told Patch recently that the investigation is ongoing.

Speaking with Patch, Guidice said McElwee and the restaurant committee had been "reaching out, trying to come up with a way to do a fundraiser for a while, but nothing really came to fruition. Mike approached me last week and said he wanted to do something for the departments that helped with the fires — and, after going back and forth, we came up with the idea to do a chicken wing fundraiser on National Beer Day with 20 percent of the sales to go toward this cause. We decided to do this because most major fundraising efforts are for bad things — and we just wanted to do one that is for thanks and appreciation."

Reflecting on the heroes who faced cold temperatures and fierce winds on the weekend of the fires, Guidice said: "These men and women who put their lives on the line for us are truly, truly special people. They are people who deserve to be honored, appreciated and thanked for all they do."

Her efforts to give back have imparted forever life lessons, Guidice said.

"Being a part of these large-scale fundraisers, it tells me that people really do care, and they want to help a cause. Especially when we make these fundraisers super easy and fun! Everyone has to eat, right? Why not support a local business and a good cause at the same time?"

Organizing fundraisers has also been deeply rewarding, she said.

"This has taught me that I have a real passion for helping people and, especially, helping an industry that really needs help right now. The most rewarding part is the aftermath — being able to be a part of something awesome. Also, the constant questions of 'When’s the next one?'" Or just the impact one or two days can make for those we help raise funds for. Over the past 5.5 years of fundraising through Dine-LI we have raised almost $500,000 — so it’s a really cool feeling that we, as a collective, were able to help so many different charities and causes. And that we will continue to do so."

To those hoping to participate, Guidice said: "Mark your calendar, gather your crew, and enjoy some wings while making a big impact!"

To donate or learn more, click here.