Country Club Evening Raises Critical Cash and
Spirits for Long Island Homeless
Supporters and Participants Unite to Benefit Mercy Haven, Inc.
BAY SHORE, NY. NOVEMBER 6, 2011. TALES OF HARDSHIP were countered by memories of help that came when needed, and communities that mobilized when faced with injustice, at Mercy Haven’s 26th Annual Fall Cocktail Party.
More than 150 supporters of
Mercy Haven, Inc. gathered on a crisp fall afternoon at the Southward Ho
Country Club in Bay Shore to raise funds to support the nonprofit agency, which
provides housing, advocacy, education, and life skills development to Long
Islanders who are homeless, living with mental illness, or living in
poverty. Empire National Bank sponsored
the event in partnership with members and friends of the McNamara Family.
‘”I have suffered from depression all my life,” shared one Mercy Haven participant, Diane F., with the afternoon’s guests. “Mercy Haven has given me my life back, has given me a relationship with my daughters, my sons-in-law, and my grandchildren. I hope I can use the rest of my life to giveback to Mercy Haven, just a little bit of what it has given to me.”
Another Mercy Haven participant, 15 year-old Jayrud, wrote a letter to the crowd crediting Mercy Haven with helping him, his mother, and his sisters live a new and exciting life filled with opportunity. “Before living in our Mercy Haven home, we rarely got to spend quality time with our mom because she always had to work and put extra hours in to make ends meet. I witnessed her struggles and would think and say to her ‘mom it will get better one day.’’, he shared. “Mercy haven presented us with a blessing. They gave us a chance to live at a place where housing was affordable…Now we have that opportunity to spend quality time with my mom.”
Mercy Haven Executive Director Patricia Griffith greeted participants and supporters individually, offering the group as a whole a challenge. “While we often share struggles that family and friends are facing when suffering from diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s,” said Sister Pat, “we often don’t speak about family members who are suffering from mental illness. I believe it is our willingness to initiate these types of conversations that will help to dispel the stigma that exists around this disease.”
A surprise visit to the party came from
Town of Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan. Supervisor
Nolan was a young legislator in 1985 when he attended a meeting at Bay
Shore High School, during which several vocal members of the community opposed
Mercy Haven’s attempt to provide shelter for displaced residents of the Bay
Bright Hotel. Indeed, he was one of the
few elected officials who supported Mercy Haven’s bid, which ultimately
succeeded and sparked the official founding of the agency. This
afternoon, Supervisor Nolan presented Sister Pat with a Citation signed by all
members of the Islip Town Council acknowledging the significant contributions
Mercy Haven makes to the community.
The
gathering met targets for donations to help Mercy Haven continue to serve
hundreds of residents and participants this fall. Among the prizes were 40 gift baskets valued from $100-$200
each, as well as eight premium prizes valued from $400 - $1,900, including
three Lladro figurines, a weekend
get-away on Long Island’s North Fork and a painting by internationally renowned
artist Barbara Ernst Prey – all donated by Long Island neighbors, businesses,
and supporters of Mercy Haven.
Established in 1985, Mercy Haven, Inc. is a non-sectarian, not-for-profit 501(c) (3) corporation. Mercy Haven’s mission is to acknowledge the dignity and potential of people who are homeless, living with mental illness or living in poverty by providing housing, advocacy, education and life skills development.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Christine Cusack,
Development Director, Mercy Haven
631.277.8300 / ccusack@mercyhaven.com