Floral Park Community Unites For Children’s Endeavors
Every once a while, a story is so gripping that it captures the hearts of people around the country and beyond. In the Village of Floral Park, one family’s devastating loss has unified their local community to come together and help children in need.
Last year, the Hance Family Foundation was founded by Warren and Jackie Hance to honor the memories of their three daughters, Emma, 8, Alyson, 7, and Kate, 5, who died in a tragic car accident on the Taconic Parkway, on July 26, 2009.
As the story continued to make headlines, donations and offers of support poured in from areas as close as the Village of Garden City to as far as Korea. The funds raised for this Foundation are used to give back and support children’s endeavors, with an initial emphasis on serving the children of their hometown Village of Floral Park. The intention of the Foundation is to “honor the memories of these extraordinary young girls by helping as many children as possible, in as many ways as possible,” according to the Foundation’s website.
Volunteer and chairperson Bernadette Smith is extremely passionate about fulfilling the Foundation’s mission and is committed to honoring the memory of the Hance girls. “It’s really about creating a legacy and celebrating the lives of the girls and their love and their joy and their family,” she explained. Smith added that the response from the public has been overwhelming. “It’s really been worldwide. I still get subscribers for the newsletter daily. It’s really phenomenal,” Smith stated. Another dedicated volunteer Tricia GaNun, who is a good friend of the Hance family, explained that donations have been coming in across the country and local neighborhoods and they are making a difference. “It’s about children’s endeavors, doing as many things as possible for children,” GaNun said.
The Foundation has already hosted a variety of community-oriented projects to raise funds for children’s endeavors. In May, the Foundation teamed up with the Floral Park Youth Council for the yearly spring races in Floral Park. A record number of 1,250 total race participants and more than 250 volunteers came out for the fundraiser. It was also the first Hance Family Fun Day, a family-oriented event that celebrated the spirit of Emma, Alyson and Kate Hance. Smith emphasized that the day presented many opportunities to help the community. “For instance for the Family Fun Day, there was food left over and we paid it forward instantly. The food went straight from the garden to the Ronald McDonald House and to the Inn at Hempstead, and to very needy families that we know of in Hempstead…so that nothing goes wasted and no stone is unturned,” Smith said.
During the fundraiser, baskets were sold to raise money for the Hance Family Foundation and the Floral Park Conservation Society also dedicated the Learning Pavilion in the Children’s Garden to the Hance girls.
On Saturday, June 12, The Hance Family Foundation also led a community cleanup project at Centennial Gardens in Floral Park. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and parents brought their children and weeded as a family. Local teenagers also came in groups to lend a hand to the project. Most recently, the Hance Family Foundation donated a grand total of $45,000 to Floral Park Bellerose, John Lewis Childs and Our Lady of Victory Elementary schools to be used for picnic tables, park benches and supplemental playground equipment at FPF and JLC and for furniture for a new kindergarten classroom in OLV. In addition, the foundation recently awarded small scholarships to students at the three schools.
Smith explains that the Foundation is in the planning stages of hosting another cleanup day in the fall at the Centennial Gardens, where young children get involved in making the village a more beautiful place. “We’re looking to do more giveback events,” she explained. “They do all this work in October and they come back in the spring and see all these wonderful things that have come out of their work.”
In addition to events, the Foundation also created the EAK project (Emma, Alyson and Kate), entitled “Beautiful Me.” Its mission is to help improve young girl’s self-esteem and extend the lessons Emma, Alyson, and Kate taught through their examples. This project is designed to teach girls of all ages how to think positively and with assurance about their bodies, their skills, and their relationships with others. Currently, the Foundation is forming groups for July and the fall of 2010 in Floral Park, Garden City, and Hempstead. Groups are available for girls, ages 5-10 and 11-16. Group leaders are also available to run meetings in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens. At the workshops, teachers and social workers can facilitate large and small groups, as well as for schools, athletic teams, church organizations, and Girl Scout troops.
If there are any school districts or groups that are interested in participating in the EAK programs, to donate or to sign up for foundation’s quarterly newsletter, visit the Hance Family Foundation website at www.hancefamilyfoundation.com.
