The Townwide Fund of Huntington recently gifted a new Accushield Health Screening kiosk to St. Johnland Nursing Center of Kings Park. CEO Mary Jean Weber welcomed Townwide Fund President-Elect Greg Kennedy, Executive Director Alice Marie Rorke, Grants Chair Janice Whelan and Board Member Jim Powers at the installation and dedication of the kiosk in the lobby of the nursing center on Jan. 20.
Pictured are St. Johnland Nursing Center CEO MaryJean Weber, Administrator Nicolas Destinville and Director of Development Trish Rongo with TWF President-Elect Greg Kennedy, Board Members Janice Whelan and Jim Powers with Executive Director Alice Marie Rorke.
Funded by a grant from the Townwide Fund, the Accushield kiosk will automatically scan staff and visitors for a temperature check and ask a series of health questions that will allow for improved safety measures and contact tracing should it be needed. “Resident and staff safety are a priority at St. Johnland, and the gift of this invaluable piece of equipment allows us a streamlined system for tracking visitors and staff,” said Weber.
Guide Dog Foundation honored Townwide Fund last year, naming a puppy “Charity” as a special tribute to the group. Photo from Guide Dog Foundation
By Daniel Dunaief
They put their money where their heart is. The dedicated volunteers at The Townwide Fund of Huntington contribute to charities that provide everything from meals to visiting nurses to guide dogs. Founded in 1961, Townwide Fund, which was originally called Huntington Township Charities Inc., has donated over $12 million to charities with the hope of ensuring that the town meets the needs of its residents.
Times Beacon Record News Media is pleased to name the members of Townwide Fund as its People of the Year.
Executives from several area charities appreciated the ongoing financial support from Townwide Fund.
“The need is greater and the funding gets less,” said Susan Shiloni, the executive director of Literacy Suffolk, which has received financial backing from Townwide Fund since 2001. “We are so grateful for these other sources of revenue like the Townwide Fund that help us out. I don’t know where we would be” without places like the fund, which provided $3,000 this year.
Literacy Suffolk helps build literacy among adults. Townwide Fund’s contribution supports training for one-on-one tutoring.
Charity, one year later. Photo from the Guide Dog Foundation
Guide Dog Foundation, meanwhile, has received financial assistance from Townwide Fund for over 20 years that adds up to about $60,000. In the past three years, the fund has helped with new puppy vests and equipment and supplies for the nursery. This year, it also helped buy a portable ultrasound scanner for a home whelping program.
“With this vital piece of equipment, we can scan a mother dog after she has given birth to ensure everything has gone well,” Theresa Manzolillo explained in an email. “We don’t have to bring her to a vet, which reduces any potential health risks to the puppies and helps keep the mom’s stress level low.”
For Island Harvest Food Bank, Townwide Fund has stepped up with $15,500 in the last four years, which helped provide about 31,000 meals.
“The Townwide Fund of Huntington enables us to provide residents who may be struggling with hunger and food insecurity with supplemental food support and essential services to help guide them from uncertainty to stability,” Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, wrote in an email.
One of the longest standing organizations supported by the fund, Visiting Nurse Service of New York has been receiving contributions from the fund’s inception, in 1961. Prior to the creation of Medicare, the fund helped support a wide range of expenses. In recent years, the fund helps support services Medicare and insurance don’t cover, like acupuncture, which helps with pain control and symptom management, said Linda Taylor.
The fund is “very community oriented” and “supports the people who live here,” Taylor said.
David Altman, a founding partner of the law firm of Brown & Altman, became the president of the fund this year.
The money the fund provides is “really affecting our community to make a better life,” said Vita Scaturrro, who
is on the board of the fund and is also the co-chair of the grants committee. “The grants we give have a return.”
Scaturro said the grants committee reviews all the applications, writes up its recommendations and then presents them to the board. Grants need to be submitted by the end of July.
Townwide has several fundraising events. They host the Charity Gala, St. Patrick’s Run, Classic Golf Outing, Comedy Night and Thanksgiving Day Run. The fund also collects donations through a year-end annual appeal, Corporate Sponsorship Program, Coin Box Program and online Round Up Program.
Scaturro is pleased with the way the funds benefit people who live in the area.
“I’ve been involved with different not-for-profit organizations,” said Scaturro, who has lived in Huntington for 36 years. The money from Townwide Fund “is given for the right purpose.”
People interested in learning more about the fund can visit the website, at www.townwidefund.
JIm Powers, president of the Townwide Fund oF Huntington, at their annual gala. Photo from Facebook
By Kyle Barr
There’s a Huntington man who keeps himself awake at night, driven to make sure he does his best to raise funds for charity — benefiting not one, but nearly 40 organizations.
Jim Powers, the president of The Townwide Fund of Huntington, thinks of his time with a business-like aim toward efficiency. He wants to get the biggest bang for his time.
As president of the fund, an organization created by the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce to raise funds for local charities, Powers funnels his time and energy toward aiding 39 nonprofit organizations. In 2017, the fund gave out more than $200,000 to charities in and around the Town of Huntington.
Jimmy Powers has been credited by some for saving the Townwide Fund of Huntington. Photo from Townwide Fund of Huntington
“It’s almost one size fits all,” he said. “You’re putting all your time into one organization [where] you can affect 39 different charities touching tens of thousands of different people in the town. Our tagline is, ‘The money raised in Huntington stays in Huntington.’”
Powers dedicates hours each week to the fund, whether it is looking for donations, supporting charity events, hosting their own fundraising events and more. At full board meetings, he’s known to bring coffee and bagels, knowing that all but one board member is a volunteer. Powers wants to show that their time is appreciated.
Powers is also a volunteer for the fund.
“He’s the heart and soul of this organization,” said Gloria Palacios, executive director of The Townwide Fund. “Our fundraising events are the most important thing that we do and Jim gets behind each one because he’s so driven to make sure that we get all the sponsorships and ticket sales and what not.”
Palacios said she marvels at the amount of time Powers puts into the organization, knowing he works many hours a week teaching at New York Institute of Technology and is also the director of business development for Bohler Engineering. She often teases him, Palacios said, knowing in the two or three days before The Townwide Fund events he doesn’t sleep, anxiously making sure every last detail works out perfectly.
“I keep telling him, ‘That it’s not your event, it’s a team event,’ but he says, ‘I know, but this needs to work for the town,’”
Palacios said.
Nine years ago, The Townwide Fund was nearly closed. Many people on the board point to Powers as the person who saved the fund from collapse. He drew up a business plan, replaced much of the board with what he called a “young, vibrant board” including not just business leaders but bankers, architects, attorneys, teachers and stay-at-home moms.
“He’s probably raised more money and given away more money than any other president in the fund’s history,” said Dave Gustin, vice president of the board and president of Melville Chamber of Commerce.
He’s the heart and soul of this organization.
— Gloria Palacios
Others say Powers is the first person to make phone calls or jump in when something needs to be fixed. Carl Adler, third vice president of The Townwide Fund, recalled one day when they drove by one of the organization’s fundraiser signs together and realized it had been hit by a truck.
“We decided to get out — we had a shovel in the car — and fix it up together,” Adler said. “It’s very typical of Jim when something comes up, he’s going to fix it or he’s going to get people involved.”
Bob Bontempi, founding board member of Long Island Business Council and former chairman of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, said Powers supports not only The Townwide Fund but is visually active in several other organizations.
“I don’t know how he has the energy to do all the things he does,” Bontempi said. “He’s just one of those people that you go to because he’s a visible leader, and it’s the totality of selfless effort and time over the years that finally needs to be recognized.
