Bellmore
HERALD Trainer seeks gym inclusivity
Mepham installs annual flag field
The life of Timothy Denton
Page 5
Page 10
Page 15
$1.00 $1.00
NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 2, 2020
VOl. 23 NO. 48
Volunteers give back and give thanks
CARsyN VOlpE, A sixthgrader at Saw Mill Road Elementary School in North Bellmore, had his head shaved before his second round of chemotherapy this week.
parishioners, John F. Kennedy High School students, and members of the local Kiwanis and Volunteers throughout Bell- Lions clubs. more and Merrick are giving Bellmore Kiwanis made a back this Thankslarge donation to giving. help Connect Last Saturday, Church feed particConnect Church of ipating families, Bellmore hosted its club President annual Families Andrew MeyerowFeeding Families itz said. “Any of the event. The Rev. families that we Jo h n G r ava g n a nor mally deal said that 140 famiwith, we direct to lies registered to [Gravagna] so they receive all the fixcan get Thanksgivings to prepare a ing meals,” he said. Thanksgiving “They’re doing a spread, which were ton of work and a provided in a driveton of good.” through distribuAlso doing good tion because of the are members of coronavirus panMerrick Kiwanis, demic. Donations who have org awere collected at nized food drives to JOhN GRAVAGNA food drives. collect donations “ I n a l o t o f Pastor, for the Bellmoreways, these fami- Connect Church Merrick Communilies depend upon ty Cupboard, the us going the extra Central High mile,” Gravagna said. “We make School District’s food pantry. sure not only to feed them but “Traditionally we have centered pray with them and ask for God’s on families with school-aged blessing upon their lives.” children,” Kiwanis President Gravagna estimated that 100 Martin Valk said, “but we felt volunteers pitched in during the distribution, including church Continued on page 3
By AlyssA sEiDMAN aseidman@liherald.com
i
Courtesy Melanie Bakay
Friends ‘brave the shave’ for Saw Mill sixth-grader By AlyssA sEiDMAN aseidman@liherald.om
North Bellmore resident Carsyn Volpe spent Halloween the way no 11-year-old should. When Carsyn woke up on Oct. 31, the blurry vision he had experienced at school the day before had worsened into total blindness in his right eye. A CT scan and an MRI revealed that a two-inch tumor in the right side of his face was compressing his
optic nerve. On Nov. 4, doctors gave the Volpe family a dispiriting diagnosis: Carsyn’s neuroblastoma had relapsed. The Saw Mill Road sixthgrader was first diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma — a rare form of childhood cancer that affects the central nervous system — in 2011, when he was just 2. After 14 months of extensive treatment, he was declared cancerfree in October 2012, and had been for the past eight years. “This has changed his
whole world,” said Carsyn’s mother, Bernadette Volpe. “In January he’ll start a protocol for relapse — which includes extensive, painful treatments like MIBG therapy and immunotherapy — but until then he’s undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy to hopefully shrink the tumor.” Knowing he would eventually lose his hair during chemo, Carsyn told his mother he wanted to shave his head. And, much like his canContinued on page 4
wish that everyone would be able to experience this kind of generosity at least once in their life — to be part of something bigger than themselves.