Home Times of Middle Country

Comsewogue Warriors stay victorious

by Bill Landon - February 24, 2021

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The Comsewogue Warriors extended their winning ways with another victory at home snaring the visiting Cougars of Centereach 73-61 to extend their league IV record to 3-0, 4-0 overall.

Liam Gray led the way for the Warriors nailing 3 triples, 4 field goals and 14 out of 16 from the charity stripe for a team high of 31 points. Matt Walsh followed with 3 treys of his own, 3 field goals and 5 from the line for 20 points along with teammate Anthony Chmela who netted 16.

Chris Cartolano was the offensive spark for the Cougars hitting eight from the floor 2 triples and a pair of free throws for 24 points. James Kiernan banked 14 and Riddick Drab tacked on 6.

In this Covid abbreviated season Comsewogue retakes the court hosting Deer Park on Feb. 23 before concluding their regular season on the road against Bellport.

Centereach searches for that elusive first win in their season finale on the road against West Islip Feb. 23.

Post season play begins Feb. 25 with the conference championship the following day at noon. Photos by Bill Landon

D. None of the Above: Pondering the ‘found time’ created by the 46th

by Daniel Dunaief - February 24, 2021

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By Daniel Dunaief

I have a surprising amount of “found time” these days.

I still have numerous responsibilities and deadlines, but the time between activities, when I’m walking and talking with my wife, when I’m driving to the supermarket or when I’m preparing dinner, my mind is free of the pattern it had developed over the course of the last four years.

No, I wasn’t training for the Olympics and no, I wasn’t preparing a machine to land on the Red Planet. I was, like so many other people, living my life and reading the headlines.

More often than not, the 45th president of the United States consumed the news cycle. Periodically, I wrote about him, but, for the most part, despite reading and reacting to the things other people wrote, I recognized that few ideas or thoughts I had were original or even worth printing.

Yet, I found myself reading and reacting with friends and family, pondering whether he was setting new presidential precedents.

While my body hasn’t gone on any distant vacations, except for a relaxing ski weekend, my mind suddenly has more time. Indeed, even when there are headlines about Supreme Court decisions related to the former president, I glance at a few sentences and move on to other things.

So what am I doing with all this found time? In no particular order, here are a few ways I have reengaged my mind:

■ I’m reading more books. I have had Walter Isaacson’s biography of Ben Franklin next to my bed for a while. I’m now parsing through it more closely, enjoying the reality of an iconic American, learning about his love for travel and his well-known sense of self worth.

■ I’m thinking about Mars. At first, of course, I couldn’t help wondering how Marvin the Martian from the Bugs Bunny era might react to the Perseverance rover landing next to his home. On a more serious note, I enjoyed the absolutely giddy scene at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly for years for this moment and where they saw and heard sights and sounds from Mars that bring us all closer to the planet’s surface.

■ I’m noticing the lighting around our neighborhood. As we approach spring, the colors of the light have changed, turning ordinary homes into glowing domiciles. If I were selling some of the houses around me, I would take pictures of them during the sunrise and sunset, showing prospective buyers these residences when they are glowing.

■ I’m becoming preoccupied with sports again. I am following the Brooklyn Nets more closely and, more directly, am excited for the days and weeks ahead when my son might play baseball. In his last year of high school, he has an opportunity to play for his school and himself, if the school and the league are able to get through an entire season during the pandemic.

■ I’m marveling, in a distant and impersonal way, at the turnabout in press coverage. CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post have toned down their Washington criticism, while the New York Post and Fox News seem intent to point out all the flaws and dangers of the new administration. The teeter-totter has tilted in the other direction now, with the New York Post attacking White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki with some of the same concerns that the more liberal papers attacked the previous press secretary.

■ Lastly, I’m listening to everything around me better. The children playing down the street and the returning birds calling to each other in the trees have captured my attention.

Between You and Me: My carpet has lots of leafy greens and low cholesterol

by Leah Dunaief - February 24, 2021

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

It seemed like a good idea in the moment. The clock on the oven read 7:00 p.m., and I wanted to watch the PBS News Hour on Channel 13. But I was also hungry. So I reached into the fridge and took out one of the smoothies I make in advance to last me the week.

This one was in an open top container that I had covered with plastic wrap. I threw the cover in the trash, plunked a straw into the purple drink, picked up a coaster to rest the drink on and headed up the stairs to the television in the bedroom.

After switching on the overhead light, I picked up the remote, put the coaster on the bedside table, settled myself into the adjacent overstuffed chair and reaching over, put the container of smoothie on the coaster. To my horror, the coaster skittered out from under the container, which tipped over and splattered its contents across the carpet, spotting the nearby bedspread, the wall behind me, even the lower slats of the blinds across the room. In an instant, 32 ounces of smoothie lay spread out before me.

“Holy cow!” I yelled. (That’s not what I really yelled, but this is a family newspaper.) The speed with which I had just ruined the bedroom stunned me. I jumped up, grabbed some towels from the nearby bathroom, and on my hands and knees, breathlessly tried to sop up what had not already soaked into the blue carpet.

Finally, I sat back to stop my panting and to survey the damage. It was awesome what some liquid in a cup could do to an otherwise orderly room. It occurred to me then that this wasn’t just ordinary liquid. This was probably the most nutritious contents this carpet could have sucked up. Let me tell you what I put into my smoothie.

First I pour into the Vitamix a cup of soy milk, then one cup of pomegranate juice. Next I add one banana, then 2 tablespoons of unsweetened chocolate and 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal (not the seeds.) Then comes the good part: 8 ounces of baby bok choy, 8 ounces of baby kale, 2 cups of frozen cherries and 2 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries. The mixer makes all of this into a drink, and I will have one healthy carpet, albeit devilishly stained.

I am able to joke about this because, incredibly, the story has a happy ending. Just as I was sitting in the middle of the floor, about to cry, the phone rang. It was a dear friend, and when I told him what had just happened, he offered to come right over with his shop vacuum and some kind of magic reagent that he loaded into it. He was truly an angel, passing the suction wand over the spill again and again until the original color of the carpet reappeared. He then put some kind of absorbent powder over the main body of the spill, to be left there for a couple of days and then vacuumed up. When I did so, the damaged area was restored to its former pristine condition.

When I look at the carpet now, I think how wonderful it would be if we could just vacuum up whatever unfortunate circumstances had ever befallen us. Imagine having a giant vacuum that could suck away the misery of COVID-19, returning our lives to what we had always thought of as being normal. It could also remove any hurts or regrets, any shadows of past events or unhappy relationships that we might be carrying throughout our lives.

Yes, it is true that we learn from our mistakes and our experiences. But we don’t need all of them to become better people. We certainly didn’t need a novel coronavirus, even if it did teach us that we could order groceries delivered and work from home. We could borrow from Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, and using our magic vacuum say, “Out, damned spot!”

BNL to host virtual talk, Q&A on COVID-19 research Feb. 25

by Press Release - February 24, 2021

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COVID-19 needs no introduction. Scientists fighting it do.

John Hill leads the COVID-19 Science and Technology Working Group at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. He also represents Brookhaven in a DOE consortium—the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory—which includes all 17 national laboratories working to address key challenges in responding to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 working group Hill leads at Brookhaven comprises experts in biology, nanoscience, computation, and other areas of science. They and their collaborators are leveraging world-class capabilities to study the structure of viral components, narrow the search for drugs, track research efforts, model the disease’s spread, and more.

Hill will give a virtual talk about the impacts of Brookhaven’s multifaceted COVID-19 research on Thursday, Feb. 25. The event, held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., will also include an interactive Q&A session, when audience members can submit questions for Hill and two of his colleagues:

Kerstin Kleese van Dam, Director of the Lab’s Computational Science Initiative
Sean McSweeney, Director of the Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure at Brookhaven

How to join the event—and ask a question

This event will stream live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. During the Q&A session, audience members can ask questions, using those streaming platforms’ chat functions.

You don’t need an account with Twitter, Facebook, or Google to watch the talk. You do need an account to ask questions via chat. Or you can email questions to [email protected] before the talk.

About the speakers

John Hill is the Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Photon Sciences, and Director of the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven Lab. He previously served as leader for the X-ray Scattering group in the Lab’s Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department. He is recognized as a world leader in x-ray scattering techniques for studying condensed matter systems.

Hill joined Brookhaven Lab as a postdoc in 1992, after earning a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Imperial College in London in 1986.

Kerstin Kleese van Dam is Director of the Computational Science Initiative (CSI) at Brookhaven Lab. CSI leverages computational science expertise and investments across multiple programs to tackle big-data challenges at the frontiers of scientific discovery. Kleese van Dam and collaborators at Brookhaven and Stony Brook University have applied simulations, machine learning, and other artificial intelligence tools in the fight against COVID-19.

Sean McSweeney is the Director of the Laboratory for BioMolecular Structure (LBMS) at Brookhaven. LBMS is home to state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopes and other equipment for researchers to study the building blocks of all living organisms. Most of the data McSweeney and his group collected for COVID-19 research was done at NSLS-II.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

Editorial: Black History Month, a time to learn

by TBR Staff - February 23, 2021

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Black History Month, which initially started as a weeklong commemoration in the early 20th century, has been a way to remember and celebrate important people and events in African American history officially for more than 50 years. After a tumultuous 2020, with several alleged police brutality cases against people of color across our nation, it’s more important than ever to recognize the contributions of Black Americans.

We’re not just talking about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks or former President Barack Obama (D), but also those who the spotlight hasn’t shone on enough or not at all. There are veterans who served in our armed forces, even when their fellow countrymen didn’t accept them as equals. There are entertainers who once were applauded when they were on stage but weren’t able to eat dinner at the same restaurant as those who were delighted by their performances. There are those who made great strides in science and aeronautics, who are barely mentioned in our history books.

The month is a reminder to reach out to our neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances and former classmates and listen to their stories. People just like us who work hard every day to provide a good life for themselves and their loved ones, and who dream of a better tomorrow. Yet, every day many Black Americans face obstacle after obstacle because they find — before they utter a word or make a move — they are being judged by the color of their skin.

Many of us can’t even comprehend being judged based on our bloodline. We heard the stories of our parents, grandparents or other ancestors who were once called derogatory names or turned away from jobs, some not even applying due to signs such as NINA (no Irish need apply) hung on workplace doors. But today, many of us couldn’t imagine this happening to us.

However, it’s happening every day, in our country, in our towns, even in our schools to those who are Black.

This past summer, journalism-style guidebooks used by papers across the country decided when describing Americans of African ancestry to no longer use “black” but “Black.” The call was made because lowercase is a color but uppercase signifies a culture. Capitalizing Black celebrates people who share history and culture just like Germans, Italians, Asians, Native Americans, Latinos and more.

Let’s not let this month pass without learning about our fellow Americans’ cultures and about them as human beings. Months dedicated to certain cultures provide the opportunity to learn more about the history of people outside of our inner circle and everyday lives. It gives us a chance to broaden our horizons and understand that we are all in this thing called life together, only if we realize just how similar and equal we are.

We are inviting readers to share their reflections about this year’s Black History Month in perspective articles. Submissions should be approximately 500 words, and we welcome photos to accompany the piece. Send articles and photos to Rita J. Egan at [email protected].

UK COVID-19 vaccination success story

by Rita J. Egan - February 23, 2021

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By Richard Tapp

Many TBR News Media readers have been frustrated at the slow, uneven COVID-19 vaccine rollout. With seemingly every friend in England saying, “I’ve just been vaccinated, how about you?” and with no personal appointment in sight, I asked Richard “Dickie” Tapp, of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, why he thought the U.K. vaccination scheme has been so successful.

As of mid-February, it is estimated that 21% of the total U.K. population has received the first dose, but with less than 1% fully vaccinated. In the U.S., the relative figures are 10% and 3%. I would add that the U.K. has a wider vaccination-acceptance culture, dating back to the smallpox and polio eras. Still, there could be rollout lessons for President Joe Biden (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The main difference is that U.S. citizens are having to fight overwhelmed state and big pharmacy websites for a paucity of appointments whereas, in the U.K., appointments are made by invitation for dedicated age groups. And the categories are not extended until each one is almost completed. — John Broven, TBR News Media copy editor

The rationale for the “working down through the age-groups” approach is to relieve pressure on the National Health Service [the publicly funded health care systems], which is on its knees. The “Kent” COVID mutation has driven the current surge in cases, proving to be far more contagious. Consequently, there have been far more hospital admissions than in the first wave in spring 2020. Intensive Care Unit doctors and nurses are exhausted, so it has been imperative to reduce the pressure on them. The older you are, the more likely you are to need hospitalization and possibly intensive care, hence the strategy to get the over-70s vaccinated as quickly as possible.

The main reason for the success of the U.K. vaccination campaign is that has been entrusted to the NHS, rather than one of the private sector companies with close associations to the governing Conservative Party which have made a mess of track and trace. The NHS is well versed in vaccination programs — for example, the annual winter-flu vaccination rollout — and so it’s right it should be entrusted with the task. Thanks heavens they got this one right. After a slow start, the NHS has been “on the money” although it is only fair to point out:

1. The army has been helping with the supply logistics, especially delivery.

2. The paperwork and supervision at vaccination centers are being largely handled by volunteers, such as the Lions and Rotary clubs. Also volunteers with some suitable experience — such as the Red Cross, St John Ambulance, retired nurses, etc.— have been trained in administering the vaccine. So, the burden hasn’t fallen totally on the NHS, which wouldn’t have been able to run the exercise just using its own resources.

The campaign works by the “patient” being contacted by their doctor’s office and offered an appointment, in the same way they would for a flu jab. However, in addition they are also contacted by their local NHS trust with a “we have reached your age group” letter offering an online link and a free telephone number by which to make an appointment. So, it’s a two-pronged approach. The strategy has been to work down though the age bands, first the over-80s, then in five-year bands ending with the 50-to-55 age group. To save general practitioner surgery telephone lines being overwhelmed, the instruction was to wait to be contacted and this has worked well. Dedicated vaccination centers have been set up at local community halls and venues — not just at hospitals and health centers.

The aim was to vaccinate all the 70-and-above group by Feb. 15. I had my doubts initially but the exercise has gone so well that on Feb. 8, Health Secretary Matt Hancock (Conservative) said that anyone over 70 who had not been contacted about an appointment should now get in touch with their GP surgery and/or phone the NHS free telephone number. That’s a reversal of the previous advice to wait to be contacted. Indeed, in some areas the rollout has gone so well that the 65-to-69-year-olds are now being vaccinated. I heard on local radio that the large seaside town of Eastbourne in Sussex is already calling forward this age group.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, a quarter of adults have already received one dose, including around nine in 10 over-70s. My view is that the five-year age-banding strategy has been a good one. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew in one go” is a good adage.

I think I must add a couple of caveats:

1. The overall age-group percentage figure will be lower as there is still some resistance to the vaccine, especially in Black and
Asian communities.

2. The U.K. figures look good as they are those who have had the first jab. Very few have had the second jab. The U.K. vaccination committee took a gamble in moving the second jab to 12 weeks rather than the three weeks recommended by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The gamble has paid off as the first jab is being shown to provide 50%-to-60% protection — enough to prevent serious illness — and the strategy has been endorsed by the World Health Organization. Of course, the rollout to the under-65s will slow as the 12-week anniversary of those who’ve had their first jab comes into play.

While I am proud of the vaccination rollout and the way volunteers have come forward, the downside is that is that it has given Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Conservative) his “get out of jail card.” People seem to have forgotten the disgraceful mortality figures and passing 100,000 deaths just four weeks ago. It’s a number which shames the country with so many of these due to the mistakes Johnson’s government made, yet the daily deaths — only recently under 1,000 per day — are now barely mentioned.

USDA extends free lunch waiver to local school districts

by Julianne Mosher - February 22, 2021

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School districts across Long Island have been offering free meals to children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the policy from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the program to the end of the school year.

Over the summer, at the height of the pandemic, the USDA allowed school districts to apply for free meals for all students. Usually, districts only provide free breakfasts and lunches to students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

But the coronavirus prompted the federal government to create child nutrition waivers based upon available funding at the time to end in June, then December and now throughout the 2020-21 school year.

And it’s benefiting hundreds of students, local school representatives said.

Mara Pugh, Elwood school district food services director, said when the pandemic started in March, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue gave schools the flexibility and waivers to be able to serve lunches to everyone in the community who were learning from home.

“Back then, we had a grab and go for any family,” she said. “No matter what the financial eligibility was, they would get a free lunch.”

Before the pandemic, families who were struggling or below the middle-class line were able to enroll their children in the free or reduced-lunch programs. The pandemic, however, affected everyone, and some students who came from middle-income households were now struggling.

When the waiver was passed again at the end of the 2020, Pugh said it was “a relief.”

“It definitely will help to ensure all the children in our district and community have access to the nutritious foods they need,” she said.

Whether the student is remote learning or in-person, everyone is eligible if they so choose, no questions asked.

“We have around 2,500 kids in our district,” she said, “And about 30% to 40% of them are taking advantage of it.”

Remote families are able to pick up their meals at the school, where the district packages meals for two or three days at a time, she said.

“There’s no enrollment needed,” she added. “With these times, people who were well-off last year may not be well-off this year.”

In a release last year, USDA stated that the challenges facing the country called for an effective way to feed children. The waiver allowed changes, like serving meals in all areas at no cost, permitting meals to be served outside of the typically required group settings and mealtimes, waive meal pattern requirements and allow parents or guardians to pick up meals for their children.

“As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the school year wherever they are, and however they are learning,” Perdue said. “We are grateful for the heroic efforts by our school food service professionals who are consistently serving healthy meals to kids during these trying times, and we know they need maximum flexibility right now.”

Three Village school district also has taken advantage of the waiver. Jeffrey Carlson, deputy superintendent for business services, said that he thought it was “a great idea.”

“I’ve felt for a long time that school lunches should be free for all schools,” he said. “Either the district pays for it or the federal government pays.”

Carlson said the free lunches also have gotten better than when parents were in school.

“It used to be a lot more obvious as to which kids were getting free lunch and then the stigma comes along with it,” he said. “So, if every kid just got lunch in school then we wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.”

While there are still snacks and extras that must be bought à la carte, he said that daily participation in the program has increased.

“I think it’ll go up even more after COVID,” he said. “People will be more comfortable with food being prepared for their children again.”

Beth Rella, assistant superintendent for business at Middle Country school district, said they are “thrilled” to be able to offer the program to all of their students — whether they attend in-person, virtual or hybrid classes.

“Although we began the year starting a little lighter than typical, which was anticipated due to COVID, we have noticed an increase in the number of meals served daily as the school year has progressed,” she said. “We see more and more students enjoying tasty breakfasts and lunches each day. We hope that students, who may have not tried out the food services program previously, use this as an opportunity to taste the various menu items.”

Carlson said that when USDA extended the program, there wasn’t a big announcement about it. Rella added that her district has “utilized ConnectEd messages, board of education meetings, printed flyers, the website and have even encouraged faculty and staff to spread the word about the program.”

Middle Country students even had the opportunity to design and compete in a “Free Meals for All” poster contest, where the winning poster was used as a promotional display.

Smithtown school district publicized the program via email to parents. Superintendent Mark Secaur wrote back in September, “The USDA recently announced that all school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program could temporarily serve free lunch to all students until Dec. 31, 2020. We have now also received approval from NYSED to participate in the free lunch offering.”

Memos were sent out to residents within the Port Jefferson School District, too, and Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister said that while “around 10% or 15% of students are remote, this brings a level of normalcy to them.”

Leister added his district has also seen an increase in families participating.

“There’s always a gap of people who don’t feel comfortable with signing up for the reduced lunch program,” he said. “But the federal government, state and Port Jefferson School District all realize that not having a meal is important to keeping students engaged and attentive — and no one will know they got it for free.”

Rella said Middle Country offers a week’s worth of frozen meals so students can continue to enjoy hot meals during their time off.

“Having the USDA free meals for all program has not only allowed more students to participate in the program, it has helped to lessen the financial burden that was produced,” Rella said.

Smithtown West Bulls trample Newfield Wolverines

by Bill Landon - February 21, 2021

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The Bulls of Smithtown West were able to hold off Newfield despite a late game surge by the Wolverines, to cap a 55-45 road victory Feb. 20. The win lifts Smithtown West to 3-0, 4-0 overall for second place, one game behind Hills East for the League III title chase. Newfield falls to 0-3 in league in this COVID-19 shorted season.

Tyler Anderson topped the scoring chart for the Bulls with five field goals, a triple and three from the line for a team high 16 points followed by teammate Patrick Burke who banked 9 to go along with 9 rebounds.

Newfield senior Ziggy Hoe stood atop the leaderboard for the Wolverines with 12 points, Michael Agostino netted 9 and Jordan DeJesus tacked on 7. Teammates Isiah Brown the senior and junior Hamza Yousef banked 6 points apiece.

Both teams have three games left that they’ll play in five days-time before post season play gets underway Feb. 26.

Stony Brook resident helps restaurants stay safe with no-touch menus

by TBR Staff - February 21, 2021

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bagel express, kimberly brown — Bagel Express in Setauket is among the restaurants using the no-touch menus created by Chris Zenaty. Photo by Kimberly Brown

By Kimberly Brown

Restaurants are finding new ways to keep their patrons safe.

While many provide traditional plastic menus, which could potentially harbor unwanted bacteria, some customers find it one more reason to deter them from eating out.

However, Chris Zenaty, CEO of No Touch Orders, has found a solution to the problem — a no-touch menu to be viewed on one’s mobile device.

A resident of Stony Brook, Zenaty’s local business is based on ordering through QR codes, which have aided restaurants in promoting a safe dining experience.

The affordable, cloud-based POS system comes with everything an owner may need. All that’s required for setting up is one-to-two spare hours, a Wi-Fi printer and a kiosk.

“The technology that they’re using here hasn’t been changed in 10 years, so it’s up to small innovative companies, like ourselves, to come up with new ideas and technologies,” Zenaty said.

Customers need only to scan the unique QR code on the table with their cellphone camera, pull up the menu, order and even pay through the system. Zenaty’s ingenuity has given customers and businesses the option of a completely touch-free experience while dining.

“I thought maybe not everyone wants to touch the menus, and everyone uses smartphones for everything, so why not just look at the menu while you’re waiting there?” he said.

With the help of Jeremy Herrmann, a computer science major at Stony Brook University, and Bob Pearson, a physics teacher at Patchogue-Medford High School, Zenaty was able to bring his unique coding system to life in just two years. He plans to expand his company in the near future.

No Touch Orders QR readers can be found around New York City, and closer to home on the North Shore. Zenaty said that Bagel Express in Setauket and Pentimento Restaurant in Stony Brook Village have been utilizing his service.

“We started locally because we have a lot of support out here, but I’d like to bring this to different states,” he said.

A Kenyan school bus that could save lives

by Julianne Mosher - February 18, 2021

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hope childrens, kyle spillane — Kyle Spillane with three students during one of his past trips to Kenya. Photo from Kyle Spillane

By Julianne Mosher

An initiative built a school for kids in Kenya, and now they need a way to get there.

Kyle Spillane, a graduate of Shoreham-Wading River High School and board member of the local nonprofit Hope Children’s Fund, recently set up a GoFundMe fundraiser online to buy a minibus to safely get Kenyan students to school.

“It has the potential to save lives,” he said.

Incorporated in 2003, Hope Children’s Fund is a New York State licensed 501(c)(3) that provides for the physical and emotional needs of some of the most vulnerable AIDS-affected children who had been living on the streets of Meru, Kenya.

With the goal to provide food, clothing, shelter and medical care to enable children to be enrolled in local schools, the Jerusha Mwiraria Hope Children’s Home was built in 2005, taking in children that are HIV affected or who come from tragic backgrounds with families who can no longer care for them.

According to Spillane, two of the group’s kids unfortunately — and tragically — lost their lives while walking home from school, due to the dangerous surrounding area. Their names were Glory and Michell.

“We wanted to fund a vehicle to transport our kids and doctors to and from the school,” he said. “We have never had a vehicle, and it’s been very costly for us to rent taxis and buses for them.”

Over the years, the organization lacked a vehicle to transport the children to and from their regular activities of attending school, shopping for food and supplies for the home, and visiting medical providers. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, public transportation is no longer the safest option for the group’s immune-compromised children, who regularly travel to the doctor.

Spillane said the GoFundMe, called A Vehicle for Hope, which was posted early last month has raised more than $4,600 to date. The total cost for a 16-seater minibus, from a Toyota dealership in Kenya, will cost $42,000. They have received a $10,000 grant from World Orphan Fund and received a partnership from an anonymous donor who has offered to match the first $5,000.

“We just got over 50% of our goal,” he said.

The 26-year-old Shoreham resident found out about the Setauket-based organization through the Global Awareness Club at Shoreham-Wading River High School. Since becoming a part of it, he has been to Kenya four times, returning more recently in 2017 and 2019.

“This is an organization I hold close to me,” he said. “They have really grown to be what I consider my family, and I wouldn’t still be interested if I didn’t believe in those children. The amount of growth I’ve seen them go through is amazing.”

Hope Children’s Fund is a completely volunteer-based nonprofit.

“The education is what they really want,” he said about the students. “It’s incredible — these students are coming from nothing and are becoming doctors. They are not taking anything for granted.”

Spillane is asking the community to donate and help keep these students safe.

“This GoFundMe will support and provide protection to some of the brightest youth minds, who are also some of the most vulnerable AIDS-affected children in Meru, Kenya,” he said.

To donate, visit the GoFundMe here.

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