By Tammy Severino
More than 150 attendees joined the Michael Magro Foundation at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville for a beautiful evening, complete with laughter, music, raffles, and a stunning pink, Long Island beachside sunset on July 21. A first-time event for the foundation, the evening raised nearly $32,000 for programs to serve children with cancer and other major illnesses and their families.
The brainchild of Terrie Magro, co-founder of the nonprofit organization, the Summer Evening of Cocktails and Networking [with Friends and Colleagues] was designed to be an easy, outdoor summertime soiree to raise funds and safely return to in-person events. The outdoor venue made it possible to breathe a little easier as people gathered to eat, drink, laugh, and listen to The Liverpool Shuffle playing old Beatles favorites.
Terrie gave brief remarks to the crowd, thanking sponsors and attendees for their support of the foundation.
“Paul, Marc, and I are truly grateful to all of you,” she said. “Throughout the pandemic, our phones rang more than ever with requests for help from hospitals all throughout the country. Because of your support, the foundation is helping more families of children with cancer than ever before. We are in more hospitals, in more states, and the requests keep coming. Evenings like this make it possible for us to always say ‘Yes, we can help.'”
The evening’s platinum sponsors included JM2 Architecture, PC, East End Group, HKM Associates, Investors Bank, and TiedIn. Gold sponsors for the event were Champion Elevator, Dr. Jackie Orfanos/MD VIP, Pink Tie, and Zabbia Insurance Agency. Silver sponsors were The Office of Maureen Smart, LCSW, and Ticket Time.
Information on the 2022 event will be available on the organization’s website as it becomes available.
Michael Magro Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization founded by Paul and Terrie Magro to honor the life of their son Michael, who died of leukemia at age 13. The foundation works with the Cancer Center for Kids at NYU Langone Long Island Hospital, Stony Brook Children’s Cancer Division, and other NYU, Cohen’s, and Stony Brook pediatric facilities where treatment of chronic diseases is ongoing, as well as with children’s hospitals throughout Florida.
Calls for assistance during the pandemic have resulted in the expansion of the foundation’s footprint to several states across the nation. Core programs offered are Life Essentials, helping families struggling financially during their child’s treatment with non-medical expenses; Project SOAR, providing support for childhood cancer patients, families, students and teachers when the child returns to school following a long illness; and Bonding With Baby, helping siblings of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) communicate and bond. In partnership with The Spencer Foundation, the foundation also offers Operation Playcation, an initiative providing inpatient pediatric hospital patients with new PlayStation units and games.
For more information on the Michael Magro Foundation, or to support the Foundation with a tax-deductible contribution, visit michaelmagrofoundation.com or email info@michaelmagrofoundation.com.
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