November 30, 2022 West Islip

TO

NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS

Holiday Bazaar & Luncheon

The ECW of St. Mark’s Church will hold its annual Holiday Bazaar & Luncheon on Saturday Dec. 3rd from 9:30am - 3:00pm at 754

Montauk Highway, Islip, NY (adjacent to Rt.111). Holiday crafts, ornaments, baked goods, wreaths, vintage items, jewelry items, gifts, raffles and

much more.  Homemade soup, sandwiches, hot dogs and desserts served. And a visit from Santa Claus !!!

For Details call 631-5814950 or 516-459-2976

Breakfast With Santa

Come enjoy a Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 10, 2022, at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 109 Udall Road, West Islip. Two seatings are available.

9:00 am-10:30 am and 11:00 am-12:30 pm. Meet Santa and enjoy a delicious buffet, crafts & raffles. $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children. Free for children 2 and under. Tickets are

limited so please purchase yours as soon as possible. Please call 631-661-6740 for tickets and more information.

Bravo Foxtrot United Veterans Inc.

Bravo Foxtrot United Veterans Inc. is a new non-profit charitable organization that provides aid to our local homeless veterans. They provide

temporary housing as well as holistic therapy, in hopes to ease their transition for when they reunite with their loved ones and communities. Clothing

donations are graciously accepted. For additional information visit www. bravofoxtrot.org.

Calling All Sisters Of St. Joseph Alums “Together Again”

The Sisters of St. Joseph invite alums from all classes, faculty and staff to the Annual Alum Holiday

Event on Thursday, December 8 at Giando on the Water in Brooklyn. For more information or

to purchase tickets, please visit www.brentwoodcsj. org or call 631-273-1187 ext. 154.

Student-Athletes Commit To Play In College

Tis The Season For Giving

On Monday, November 21, 2022, Noelle Lambert and The Bryn Elliott Team launched a Holiday Donation Drive, benefitting the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that strives to end homelessness on Long Island, and to alleviate the issues associated with homelessness and poverty for homeless and at risk persons in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

“I’ve always been passionate about helping others, but more specifically assisting the homeless is really important to me,” said Noelle, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “When you strip away all the excess and get down to the basics - the minimum that one should have in order to put their best foot forward every day - what remains is a home, along with food, and the like. There are countless people struggling and facing homelessness right now on Long Island and it just feels like the right thing to do to help them.”

Elliott at 631.332.8899. For more information about the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, visit www. addressthehomeless.org.

About The Fish Store: The Fish Store is a family run business that opened its doors in 1978. Their market and restaurant in Bayport offers fresh food options and is beloved by many. They are the proud winners of Bethpage Best of Long Island’s #1 Best Fish Market on Long Island for 9 years in a row.

About USA Auto Body: USA Auto Body is a fullservice auto body repair shop in East Patchogue. Their trained professionals can complete your automobile restoration to manufacturerspecified standards and they are ready to make your car shine!

About Long Island Media Group: Long Island Media Group is a locally owned and operated media company that has been publishing since 1953. Today they publish the South Bay’s Neighbor, Neighbor Newspapers, Seasons Magazine, along with many other specialty products. They also offer digital marketing services.

About Douglas Elliman

STUDENT-ATHLETES COMMIT TO PLAY IN COLLEGE - Fifteen student-athletes from West Islip High School have committed to play their respective sports in college next fall. The district extends its congratulations to the following students: First row: Jaimey Hill (lacrosse) University of Colorado, Boulder; Gianna Aliani (lacrosse) SUNY Oneonta; Isabella Tomeo (soccer) St. John’s University; Avery Lanzarotta (lacrosse) Stetson University; and Lauren LaMorte (lacrosse) Kutztown University. Second row: Makayla Comer (softball) Adelphi University; Madison Nicolosi (lacrosse) Adelphi University; Morgan Einsetler (swimming) Hartwick College; Gianna Gentile (lacrosse) East Carolina University; and Katerina DaSilva (softball) SUNY Cortland. Back row: CJ Schwarz (lacrosse) SUNY Albany; Patrick Keenan (lacrosse) Fairfield University; Cole Sparks (lacrosse) Limestone University; Cameron Dorfman (lacrosse) Mercy College; and Thomas McElwee (baseball) SUNY Albany. They are pictured with West Islip High School Principal Dr. Anthony Bridgeman (second row far left) and West Islip School District athletic director Tim Horan (second row far right). Photo courtesy of West Islip School District

The drive will run through December 19th and has five drop-off locations throughout Long Island. “This year the organization is desperately in need of non perishable food and personal care items,” said Bryn Elliott, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with The Bryn Elliott Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “They’re also looking for clothing, socks and winter coats. We’re hopeful that this drive will make a difference by helping people who need it; especially during the toughest time of the year to be homeless.”

Every donation truly does make a difference. “We thank everyone in advance for their participation,” said Noelle. “We’re so appreciative of each business that has let us use their establishment as a drop-off location.” If you have any questions, please contact Noelle Lambert at 631.478.3819 or Bryn

Real Estate: Douglas Elliman leads the New York real estate market by sales volume, and ranks as one of the nation’s largest independent residential real estate brokerages by the same measure. From sales, rentals and new development to mortgages and title insurance, their agents are relentless advocates for their clients.

Pictured above from left to right: Noelle Lambert & Bryn Elliott

HELPING HANDS

32nd Annual New Toy Drive

Please join HELPING HANDS for their 32nd Annual New Toy drive on Sunday, December 4, from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. The event will take place at the BBEA Club House located at 944 W. Bay Drive (block of Villa Monaco) in West Islip. Everyone is welcome to help! Please bring your own scissors and tape!

Hosting the drive on a Sunday allows an excellent opportunity for children to drop off their donations and gain a firsthand glimpse of how wonderful our community is, as they come together for all the precious, underprivileged children throughout Suffolk County! Scout troops and Religious Ed.

Classes are encouraged to come! Last year, 1000s of generous gifts where donated. Every toy ended up in the arms of a local child. Be generous and donate a new toy.

Also consider a monetary gift towards supplies and “special gift” requests from the children, https://www.paypal.com/ donate?hosted_button_ id=Q84FKWW5F42DW

Traditionally, we ask every toy be decorated with a ribbon, candy cane or a lollipop. Another suggestion: Dangle Happy Meal toys from a stuffed animal’s neck. Please bring gifts ready for distribution.

For more information or to donate please visit www.facebook.com/ HelpingHandsInWestIslip/ or Jennifergallozzi@ gmail.com. Like us on FB www.facebook.com/ HelpingHandsInWestIslip/

Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express Program Benefits Long Island Food Banks

STOP & SHOP’S TURKEY EXPRESS PROGRAM

- Paule Pachter, Chief Executive Officer of Long Island Cares (far left) and Randi Shubin Dresssner, President & CEO, of Island Harvest (2nd from left) took part in a charity shootout between the first and second period of Islanders- Flames game at the UBS Arena, as Stop & Shop donated one thousand Thanksgiving turkeys each to Long Island’s two food banks. Stop & Shop’s Stefanie Shuman (2nd from right) and Shanon Karafian (far right) looked on. The donation is part of Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express program, in which the Supermarket donated 25,000 Thanksgiving Turkeys to food banks across five states.

Family Snowman Bingo for Families · WIJ031

Thursday, December 15 @ 7:00 PM

PAINTING WITH A PURPOSE WIYA 111

Monday, December 19 th @ 4 PM Join Theresa Maritato as she walks you through painting your own masterpiece to be donated to a local nursing home! Receive 1 hour of community service. WI Teen Residents only.

CLAW CLIP HAIRSTYLES (YOUTUBE)

Wednesday,

By Noelle Lambert

www.mhaw.org

Opportunity Council (EOC) of Suffolk, a Patchoguebased social services organization.

Mary worked with

Wellness (MHAW).

Among its wide range of mentalhealth-related services, MHAW offers many forms of assistance for veterans in Suffolk County. These offerings address affordable housing, medical and mental health assistance, peer support, and other services.

To allow readers to get a humanscale picture of the real-life ways that MHAW supports local veterans in need, here are the stories of “John” and “Mary.”

“John” had served our country for more than eight years as a Marine, including witnessing the aftermath of the Beirut barracks bombings in 1983 that had killed 241 American personnel and dozens of others.

He proceeded to face major difficulty adapting to post-service life, and used food to help him cope. John became significantly overweight and homeless, with a hotel as his residence for two years. It was nearly impossible to find a house that accommodated his needs until he connected with “Housing Our Homeless Heroes,” an initiative that helps veterans regain their sense of independence with supportive housing.

Happily, John is now living in a stabilized environment with dignity and respect.

As a second example, “Mary” had been discharged from the service last August, had no income, nowhere to go, and unfortunately was living in her car. She reached out to the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, run in collaboration with the Economic

the SSVF team to locate and obtain permanent housing. She also worked with a case manager and a health care navigator to apply for the VA’s service-connected disability program, where she was approved for 100-percent compensation. Mary was also connected to the Northport VA Medical Center, where she began receiving health care. In addition, Mary worked with an employment specialist who assisted her with her resume, job search, and interview prep.

As a result, Mary ultimately secured a full-time job. She has expressed her gratefulness to MHAW and to EOC of Suffolk for the critical assistance she received at the time when she needed it most.

After all they have given to America, our veterans deserve support from all of us here in Suffolk County and across the nation. With this in mind, we urge you to play a role in introducing local veterans in need to MHAW.

If you know such a veteran, have them contact Marcelle Leis, MHAW’s Director of Veteran Services, by calling 631-946-0147, or by emailing mleis@ mhaw.org. If your nonprofit would like to be featured in this column, please call Noelle Lambert at 631.226.2636 x225 for consideration.

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Honoring Heroes At Beach Street Middle School

As a thank you for their service to the country, Beach Street Middle School in the West Islip School District held its first “Heroes for Heroes” luncheon for local veterans on Nov. 7.

Beach Street Middle School Principal Andrew O’Farrell welcomed the guests, who were all invited family members or friends

of Beach Street students.

To start the celebration, members of the select chorus performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Students and their guests enjoyed lunch together and connected with other veterans. With the more than 20 veterans in attendance, all branches of the armed services were represented.

Following lunch, the veterans and their students lined up for a parade through the school. The classroom doors of Beach Street Middle School were all decorated in red, white and blue to honor the veterans for their service. Students lined the hallways, applauded and waved their flags as the guests paraded through the school.

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HONORING HEROES AT BEACH STREET MIDDLE SCHOOL - Beach Street Middle School in the West Islip School District honored veterans with a luncheon on Nov. 7. Photos courtesy of West Islip School District

group of military veterans who are PSEG Long Island employees recently took to the water to raise awareness of mental health issues afflicting many veterans. The group was among 22 veterans participating in the fifth “22 PTSD Awareness Challenge” (22PAC) event, an arduous, 22-mile kayaking trip from Bridgeport, Conn. to Port Jefferson to help shine a light on veteran PTSD and end veteran suicide. Pictured (l-r): PSEG Long Island employee-military veterans Thomas Leuschner, Evan Rohman, Richard Rohman, Matthew Testagrose, Michael Probst, Devin McLaughlin, Michael Pira, Leo Tolson and Thomas Sketch after a 22-mile kayaking trip to increase awareness about PTSD and veteran suicide.

A group of military veterans who are PSEG Long Island employees recently took to the water to raise awareness of mental health issues afflicting many veterans. The group was among 22 veterans participating in the fifth “22 PTSD Awareness Challenge” (22PAC) event, an arduous, 22-mile kayaking trip from Bridgeport, Conn. to Port Jefferson to help shine a light on veteran PTSD and end veteran suicide.

In teams of two, the 22 veterans operated pedalpowered kayaks in a physically demanding, fivehour cross-Sound journey. The hot sun, humidity and headwinds made the trip that much more difficult.

The number 22 is significant for this event because it is the estimated number of military veterans who take their own lives each day.

Here’s what the employees had to say about the event:

Devin McLaughlin of East Moriches, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, participated for the second time this year.

“Some people I met in the service are no longer with us because they lost their battles with depression,” said McLaughlin. “In a small way, doing this ride helps me think of them and lets me know I’m doing my part for them and for other veterans facing challenges.”

Michael Probst and Tom Leuschner, both U.S. Army veterans, are co-workers and Holbrook residents who supported the cause this year.

“I did the 22 PAC for my brothers and sisters in the armed forces and to support a great cause,” said Probst. “I hope this event helped to bring awareness to this issue because 22 veterans a day taking their own lives is completely unacceptable and preventable.”

“I was so proud to be a part of this great cause,” said Leuschner. “This is the least I could do for our veterans who have done so much for us.”

Tom Sketch of Seaford, a U.S. Navy veteran, was one of the kayakers.

“It’s a great event to bring awareness to the

challenges veterans face after their service is completed,” said Sketch. “It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be but we had beautiful weather and I am glad I was able to complete it!”

Matt Testagrose of Shoreham, a U.S. Army veteran, participated in the event.

“It was great to see my fellow veterans and coworkers come together to show support for PTSD awareness,” he said.

Leo Tolson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Center Moriches, said, “The trip was exhausting but I wanted to do something to help raise awareness of how many veterans need help.”

PSEG Long Island is proud to count military veterans among its workforce. Its employees are dedicated to providing customers with safe, reliable power and also committed to the communities they serve by engaging in community service activities and raising funds to support and help their neighbors.

Manetuck Elementary School in the West Islip School District is spreading kindness in many different ways this November. In recognition of World Kindness Day, the school created a kindness rainbow. Students traced their hands and wrote or drew an act of kindness they’ve performed. The

kindness rainbow is on display in the school’s hallway.

Manetuck’s social worker and counselor shared literacy and video resources with teachers to show students various ways to be kind in and out of school. Additionally, each student was given a calendar at the beginning of

the month to record their acts of kindness in and out of school. At the end of November, the students will return their calendars and be recognized for their efforts. Lastly, each grade level throughout the school collected food for the Thanksgiving food drive as part of the kindness month initiative.

MAKING KINDNESS MATTER - Manetuck Elementary School in the West Islip School District is spreading kindness across the school and the community this November. Photo courtesy of West Islip School District

Adding avocados to a healthy diet could reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, including lowering your cholesterol, according to research published by the American Heart Association. That’s especially good news because the consumption of avocados in the U.S. has nearly tripled in the past two decades, up to nearly 2.6 billion pounds a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Avocados contain high amounts of fiber, potassium, magnesium, folate, vitamin C and vitamin K. The fruit is a known source of healthy, unsaturated fats and a great replacement for certain fat-containing foods like butter, cheese or processed meats.

A study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that:

• People who ate at

On The Guac? Those Avocados Are Good For

least one avocado each week had a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared to those who never or rarely ate avocados.

• Replacing half a serving daily of margarine, butter, egg, yogurt, cheese or processed meats such as bacon with the same amount of avocado was associated with a 16% to 22% lower risk of cardiovascular disease events.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of American Heart Association found that eating one avocado a day as part of a moderatefat diet resulted in lower “bad” LDL cholesterol.

“Although avocados are not a total solution to improving heart health, research shows substantial benefits to adding them to your diet,” said Mayra L. Estrella, Ph.D., M.P.H., a

member of the American Heart Association’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health and an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health in Houston. “However, everything in moderation because avocados are not calorie-free. A medium avocado averages about 240 calories and 24 grams of fat, according to the California Avocado Commission. Yet, they are a source of healthy fat that can be eaten in place of “bad” saturated fat in a typical diet. And of course, if you’re eating them in guacamole or another types of dip, you’ll want to be careful not to indulge in too many chips, as well.”

The research on avocados

aligns with the American Heart Association’s guidance to follow the Mediterranean diet – a dietary pattern focused on fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, fish and other healthy foods and plantbased fats such as olive, canola, sesame and other non-tropical oils.

The American Heart Association website has a number of heart-healthy recipes using avocados.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peerreviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from

Heart Health

individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific

Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content.