On June 13, 2017 the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York held their Annual Charity Golf Outing at the Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury, NY. Through member sponsorships including tee signs, flags, awards, golf carts, brunch, lunch, cocktail hour and dinner, the MCA raised $55,000 towards our charitable donations. Associate Members Wealth Preservation Solutions added to this amount for a total contribution of $60,000!
Members submitted various charities for consideration. The Golf Outing Committee selected two very worthy organizations to receive our ninth annual golf outing sponsorship donation. This year’s charities were The Pediatric Trauma Center at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, submitted by Anthony Bell of Martin Associates; and The Lustgarten Foundation, submitted by Reed Rickman of Crescent Contracting Corp.
The Pediatric Trauma Center at Cohen Children,s Medical Center (CCMC) in New Hyde Park was established in 1996 to meet the needs of critically injured children in our communities. It is the first designated Level 1 regional pediatric trauma center in the entire downstate region and is one of only three such centers in all of New York State. Trauma is the most common cause of injury in the United States pediatric population. Caring for an injured child requires special knowledge, precise management, a gentle touch and the highest level of compassion; and the expert staff at CCMC is dedicated to setting the standard for pediatric trauma care in New York. Many injured children are transported to the trauma center after having been initially stabilized at a local community hospital. With the cooperation of Emergency Medical Services, CCMC operates a fleet of specially-equipped ambulances to transport injured children from other hospitals to the trauma center when specialized care is necessary.
A member of the MCA NY Board of Directors, Mr. Bell became aware of the Trauma Center after touring their facilities earlier this year. Seeing firsthand what kind of incredible services they provide for families in need, he was touched by their efforts and wanted to find a way help them in their mission.
The Lustgarten Foundation, based in Bethpage, NY, is the largest private foundation in the country dedicated solely to funding pancreatic cancer research. With minimal government funding and a five-year survival rate in the single digits, the need for alternately funded research is urgent. The Foundation believes that research provides the best hope of fighting this disease, and ultimately, finding a cure. Since inception, the Foundation has directed over $132 million to research. They have assembled the best and brightest in the field and supported more than 200 projects at nearly 60 medical and research centers worldwide. MCA New York is pleased to support this globally thinking local endeavor, and thanks to private funding, 100% of every dollar we donate goes directly to pancreatic cancer research.
Mr. Rickman addressed the outing participants about his personal involvement with the charity,which he discovered during his wife, Debbie’s recent battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Debbie Rickman also spoke briefly about how touched she was by the membership’s contributions towards research of this terrible disease.
Susanne Igneri, Special Events Coordinator for The Lustgarten Foundation, and Giustine Altschuler, Senior Director of Development for Cohen Children’s Medical Center, were both on hand at the outing to accept the donations and thank the Association for its generosity. We commend all of our outing sponsors for supporting these two amazing organizations, and for contributing over $500,000 to our selected charities since 2008.