Adventures In Learning Wine Soiree Honors Two Local Couples

Adventures in Learning, the after-school program for underserved Manhasset and Great Neck students, will be celebrating its 51st anniversary at the annual Wine Tasting Soiree to be held at Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, 455 Main St., Port Washington, on Friday, March 15. Cocktails will commence at 7:30 p.m., followed by an assortment of themed delicacies paired with a varied selection of wines.
This year the program includes ever popular Sirius XM Radio DJ Liquid Todd who will provide the music for this very hot ticket event. Enjoy the rhythm while taking in the scene created by Westhampton floral interior designers Debbie and Steve Boehl of Honeysuckle & Roses will again create the event’s exquisite décor.
As is customary to this annual event, two special couples have made a dramatic impact on the daily lives of the students and staff who participate in the Adventures in Learning program. This year’s honorees are local residents, Debbie and John Kucharczyk, and Clare and Paul Peters.
The Kucharczyks have dedicated many hours to planning, designing and carrying out the much-needed rehab and renovation of the bathrooms. In fact, with a kickoff gift of all the ceramic tile from Waterworks, they literally turned downtrodden bathrooms into state-of-the-art, exquisitely designed facilities for the children. The brightly painted and beautifully lit bathrooms now look like models displayed in House Beautiful magazine.
Clare and Paul Peters’ late son, Jaime was a true leader at Adventures in Learning. Jaime was a mentor to the students and taught boxing. The children absolutely adored him. After his passing, Clare and Paul were so inspired by his love for Adventures program, that they opted to make their own commitment to the organization. The couple reside in Roslyn with their son Adam.
Clare and Peter led the design team on the next objective for Adventures in Learning renovating and installing a new kitchen and lunchroom for the students and staff. The project was accomplished in partnership with Home Depot.
Adventures’ Executive Director Diana Holden noted that “the contributions made by this year’s honorees are truly incredible. Their love of and for the Adventures family are awesome. On behalf of the board and everyone at Adventures, we thank our honorees for their kindness and generosity. We are also most honored and grateful to Waterworks who kicked off the project with a beautiful major tile donation. It should be noted that they only select one charitable project each year. All I can say is that this has been a year of neighborly altruism, love and friendship. Thank you to one and all.”
Kadeem Howell, an Adventures alumnus, will be the guest speaker. A New York State licensed physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach, he earned a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Long Island University. He competed in the NCAA Division I level track and field and applies this athletic past helping patients to regain movement, return to consistent exercise and to serious competition.
Howell has worked with and consulted on rehabilitation for A-list celebrities, models, the Buffalo Bills football team and professional as well as collegiate and Olympic athletes. These experiences have allowed Howell to offer his patients highly trained and personalized rehabilitation. He is also on the board of directors for the nonprofit Stand Tall, Inc Physical Therapy for the Homeless.
Adventures’ guests will have the opportunity to participate in the popular raffle and silent auction. Soirée tickets are $175 per person and $100 for young adults ages 21 to 30. Kash for Kids raffle tickets are $100 each with three grand prizes of $3,000, $1,500 and $500. A maximum of 250 tickets will be sold. Silent auction donations are now being accepted.
The digital journal page will be on display during the event. Ad prices are $500 for a full page, $250 for a half page and $100 for a quarter page. Donors will have access to a digital copy of the journal.
Founded 51 years ago by the Congregational Church in Manhasset, Adventures in Learning is a nonprofit organization. It is an after-school education and enrichment program, located in the Hagedorn Community Center at the Manhasset/Great Neck EOC building at 65 High St. in Manhasset, dedicated to improving the lives of children in Manhasset and Great Neck in need of after-school care and instruction.
For those interested in reservations/tickets to the event, go to the website at www.adventures-in-learning.org/event-ticket-form, or contact Diana Holden, Executive Director, at diana@adventures-in-learning.org or call 516-365-7131.