St. Pat’s Parade Committee Delivers Donation

Winters Center for Autism receives $10,000 donation

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee had the pleasure of donating a $10,000 check to the Winters Center for Autism located in West Babylon. Ryan W. Doherty, a Sergeant with the New York MTA Police, was this year’s Grand Marshal of the 35th annual Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade and was in charge of choosing a charity to donate to.

The 14,000-square-foot Winters Center for Autism is committed to enhancing the quality of life for adults with autism through job creation, training, and placement while helping businesses to develop and implement programs to employ people with autism. Autism affects 1 in 54 children in the United States. The donation comes at a fitting time for the organization. Winters Center for Autism opened its building just under one year ago and is already impacting the lives of young adults on Long Island. Executive Director, Christine Ponzio said,

“The kindness and generosity of the Glen Cove St Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and Grand Marshall Ryan Doherty will enhance job training for more than 100 young adults with autism who reside on Long Island.”

The Winters Center for Autism is currently looking at ways to expand, and the Glen

Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee’s donation will allow the board to explore ways to increase the Winters Center’s capacity to serve more young adults with autism during a time Ponzio said unemployment rates for adults with autism exceed a staggering 85 percent. “With your support, we will change that and help businesses hire for a higher purpose.”

Ryan chose the Winters Center for Autism to honor the memory of his cousin,

Joseph Winters, who died from complications from Covid-19 at 54 years old and founded the Winters Center for Autism shortly before his death. The Winters Family was instrumental in helping Ryan’s parents emigrate to New York from Ireland and get their start in Glen Cove. For Ryan, choosing the Winters Center was an easy choice “to highlight the good works of my cousin and to keep his memory and mission going.”

About the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee:

The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a non-profit depending solely on corporate sponsorship and individual donations to the Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc. For more information or to donate, visit the parade website at www.glencoveparade.com

—Submitted by the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Committee