I’ve never seen a more stellar example of a community coming together to support its non-profits than the Oyster Festival. You might wonder how a small organization like the Life Enrichment Center at Oyster Bay manages to successfully operate a booth at one of Long Island’s largest and best known events? Lots of hearts, minds and bodies joining forces for a common cause—supporting seniors.
Community Partners: The Rotary Club, elected officials, merchants, law enforcement and residents all play major roles in the festival’s success.
I experienced the powerful philanthropy of the Rotary as executive director of Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. Rotary Clubs across Long Island provided financial and emotional support to children undergoing life saving heart surgeries through the Gift of Life Program, a program created by Rotary International. Their tireless efforts would span months, and included everything from airport pick-up to comforting families during and after surgery. It didn’t come as a great surprise to me to find out that the Rotary Clubs in this community were responsible for creating an unprecedented opportunity for local charities like ours to raise substantial funds to assist those we serve. Rotary Clubs are a beautiful example of philanthropy at work.
For the Oyster Festival, Rotarians manage everything from ordering tents, to ensuring that Health Department rules are strictly enforced. To encourage a great turnout, local officials, the Rotary and the community coordinate expanded schedules for trains and buses. Parking is covered by Mill Max, churches and residents who generously share their space to welcome visitors. To create an added-value, merchants host a street-fair complete with music, entertainment and bargains galore. Law enforcement keeps everyone safe and comfortable as hundreds of thousands of dollars exchange hands throughout each day. This event takes a great effort by our community partners and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
Running our center’s Clam Chowder Booth is a labor of love which takes a special kind of team work, lots of volunteer commitments, countless staff hours and an extra large dose of magic from our own Chef Anthony. Planning begins in early summer with soup orders. Blount Corporation, a company out of Massachusetts, supplies the delicious clam chowder, generously donating 10 cases of soup and a discount on the 255 cases purchased. Volunteers play a vital role from beginning to end. Their work starts with inspecting and maintaining our cooking equipment. They help our staff load the truck and set up the booth the Friday before the festival and arrive early on Saturday morning to prepare for the day. Soup stirrers, servers, counter help, cashiers and line monitors greet guests with smiles, and our staff dedicate full days of their time to help the event run smoothly. Festival work ends on Monday when the truck is unloaded and equipment is put away. A labor of love indeed—with 5,752 cups of soup sold, generating record revenue for the center. An impossible task without the commitment of our friends.
The Oyster Festival is a tradition that thousands of visitors look forward to each year. We are proud to be one of the many non-profit organizations that benefit from the generosity, commitment and dedication of so many. Thank you, Rotary Club, elected officials, merchants, law enforcement, residents and most especially our volunteers and staff for your commitment to our center.
