By Serena Carpino
The Silent Night Foundation held its second annual Labor Day Festival at the Superior Ice Rink in Kings Park on Saturday, Sept. 2, with 100% of the profits from the event supporting the charity.
Formed in 2014, the Silent Night Foundation sponsors sick children during the holidays. Joe Ondrush, the nonprofit’s founder, said he started the charity after successfully raising $70,000 to cover hospital bills for his cousin’s daughter, who was born with a rare heart condition.
According to Ondrush, “The event was such a huge success, a lot of people were like, ‘You should do this,’” so he started the foundation “because I wanted to help my cousin and his daughter and from there,” adding, “It just kind of snowballed into now being this.”
The foundation was largely unknown during its early years, and Ondrush did not know many families to whom to donate money. He partnered with the Stony Brook Pediatric Oncology Unit, which put him in contact with families with sick children.
Although the foundation continues to work with the unit today, we’ve “been around long enough where people know who we are; so come November and December, my phone rings off the hook asking me to help with families and their kids,” Ondrush explained.
The Silent Night Foundation holds several events yearly, including hockey tournaments such as the Silent Night Winter Classic. Once a year, it hosts Jingle Balls, a fully catered event with live music held in Smithtown. These events typically raise $50,000-$100,000 annually, all of which goes to families with sick children.
The Labor Day Festival usually brings in about $5,000-$10,000, but it holds sentimental value for other reasons. The owner of the rink, Rich McGuigan, and Ondrush have been close friends for many years.
Michelle McGuigan, Rich’s wife, said the rink specifically chose to partner with Silent Night due to their friendship and the charity’s cause.
“I’ve been such good friends with the [Ondrush family] … and I love their goal to raise as much money as they can to help as many families as they can on Christmas,” Michelle McGuigan said. “What better gift on Christmas – it’s about giving.”
Ondrush loves hockey and views the Labor Day Festival as a way to combine this interest with his charity. “I’m a hockey guy with a hockey background, so this was a great opportunity to combine my foundation and hockey,” he said.
Saturday’s event was bustling with people enjoying listening to the DJ, jumping in the bounce house and eating from the food trucks. But organizers aim to bring even more people together in the coming years.
“Most of [the people in attendance] are from our rink and hockey people, and, of course, it’s exciting that they come and wonderful,” Michelle McGuigan said. “But, I’d love to try to rally more residents of Smithtown and rally more residents of Kings Park.”
The foundation is always happy to receive any help. “You can go to www.silentnightfoundation.org — mail a check or you can use your credit card right on our website,” Ondrush added.
However, those who cannot donate money can provide a service or volunteer at an event.
Even “spreading the word and coming to events like this and sharing our social media posts just helps the foundation,” Ondrush explained. “Share our Facebook and Instagram posts and help spread the word.”
