Author: Nick DeLuca

Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation’s annual Christmas in July came to an end on Monday, July 31st. The landmark family amusement park decked the halls with thousands of lights, sang carols with the Uniondale High School Show Choir and got a visit from the man with all the toys, Santa Claus, all to support their nonprofit’s goal to collect 1,000 toys. With the help of Cox Media’s 102.3 WBAB and 106.1BLI and partners like Rhode Island Novelty, over 1,500 toys were donated to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island.

Adventureland and the Helping Hands Foundation thank you for your support and look forward to continuing Christmas in July for many years to come!

For more information, please visit : www.HelpingHandsLI.org

On September 13th, Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation donated $1,000 and over 100 books to The Book Fairies, a nonprofit organization that accepts donations of new and gently used books and connects them with the children who need them most. Founded by Amy Zaslansky in 2012, The Book Fairies work with libraries, schools, and organizations to help foster the love of reading in children in high need areas. Since being founded five years ago, The Book Fairies have donated over 800,000 books to hundreds of underprivileged schools and organizations across Long Island and the New York metropolitan area.

Funds were raised through Adventureland Employees’ Bottle Recycling Program, and matched by The Helping Hands Foundation. A $1,000 donation will supply a full grade with books and create a classroom library in an elementary school in a high needs school district.

For more information about The Book Fairies, please visit www.thebookfairies.org

For more information about Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation, visit: www.HelpingHandsLI.org

Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation will be hosting their annual School Supply Drive starting August 1st. New school supplies ranging from backpacks, to pencils, to crayons will be collected at Adventureland and donated to a local school district in need.

Last year, with the help of 102.3 WBAB and 106.1 BLI, the Helping Hands Foundation donated over 1000 school ready back packs to the Wyandanch School District.

Donors will receive a free ride on the Adventureland Train for every 5 packaged items donated! For a list of most needed items and more information please visit www.Adventureland.us or www.HelpingHandsLI.org.

We appreciate your support and look forward to reaching our goal of collecting and donating another 1000 school ready back packs to Long Island students in need!

Adventureland’s nonprofit organization, The Helping Hands Foundation, selected ten Long Island High School seniors to receive the Tony Gentile Memorial Scholarship. Award recipients were selected out of nearly 100 applicants by the board of the Helping Hands Foundation. Each graduating High School senior received a $1,000 scholarship to be used towards their first semester at a Long Island college or university. Similar to the ideals of Tony Gentile, award winners were chosen based on their dedication and commitment to the Long Island community through school programs and community service.

In addition to the ten Tony Gentile Memorial Scholarship winners, a High School senior from the William Floyd School District was awarded a scholarship for $1,700 as a part of a partnership with Tangier Smith Elementary School. Students from Tangier Smith participated in the Dollars for Scholars program by donating $1 and walking around the track with their grade. The Helping Hands Foundation then matched the $850 the students raised and donated the funds back to the school district in the form of a scholarship for a senior attending a college or university on Long Island. Adventureland awarded the grade that raised the most money with complimentary P.O.P. bracelets.

On Sunday, June 11th, the winners were recognized by the Helping Hands Foundation and the family of Tony Gentile in a brief luncheon ceremony at Adventureland. The foundation was truly delighted to assist these young students on their journey to higher education, and we look forward to gifting many more scholarship dollars to Long Island students in the future.

For more information, please contact Caitlin DiSclafani at Caitlin@HelpingHandsLI.org