__________________ Merrick _________________
HERALD GREAt HomEs: the Ultimate local Home showcase Pull-out $1.00 $1.00
High-risk H.s. sports to resume
Bellmorite on a quest for a kidney
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JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Vol. 24 No. 4
WWII veteran dons cap and gown at 95 missed him since he moved into Benton House of Port Orange, an assisted-living facility in FlorFor North Bellmore native ida, two years ago. Now the panJames “Jimmy” Graziano, demic strains their relationship receiving his high school diplo- further — they’ve seen each ma was better late than never. It other only twice in the past year. was a surprise, in fact, for his “It was the first Christmas 95th birthday. without my father,” Graziano was on said Kaniuka, who track to graduate now lives in from Mepham upstate QueensHigh School in bury. June 1944, at age 18. “Without her,” Like many other her father said, young men at the “I’m nothing.” time, however, he Because of the was drafted into distance, Kaniuka the Ar my and wanted to plan a served in World special surprise for War II. He was her father’s 95th called up in April b i r t h d a y. S h e of that year, when JAmEs GRAziANo hatched the idea to he was just two North Bellmore native get him his diplomonths short of m a , b u t d i d n’ t completing his know what to high school career. expect when she reached out to Graziano would have been the Mepham High, she said. first in his family to do so, but he She connected with Peggy didn’t regret the “three good Schroeder, secretary to Principal meals a day” that the Army pro- Eric Gomez, who was “wondervided him, his daughter, Pat ful” in helping her get a diploma Kaniuka, said. with her father’s name on it, “My dad is a very proud veter- Kaniuka said. The package, an,” she said. “He wears his ‘vet’ which was sent to Florida just in hat every day.” time for Graziano’s birthday on Kaniuka has a close relationship with her father, and has Continued on page 3
By ANdREW GARciA agarcia@liherald.com
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Courtesy Donna Mylett
NoRtH mERRick REsidENt Dawn Sambade uses her house as a drop-off point for the nonprofit We The People United Corporation, which organizes year-round collections for individuals and families in need.
Local nonprofit helps thousands Drop-off spot crowded with collections year-round By AlYssA sEidmAN aseidman@liherald.com
For almost a decade, We The People United Corp. has epitomized the phrase “the gift that keeps on giving.” Throughout the year, volunteers for the Suffolk Countybased nonprofit work tirelessly to ensure that those in need are given the necessities to live a life of dignity and respect, according to volunteer Dawn Sambade, of North Merrick.
T h e c o r p o r at i o n w a s founded by Judith Boggio in 2013 as a way to bring likeminded women together for a common cause. The initial volunteers were strangers at first, Sambade said — they were all members of a Facebook page that identified Long Islanders in need of a helping hand. Boggio contacted each of them privately to ask if they’d be interested in starting a nonprofit. What sets We The People apart from other organiza-
tions, explained Sambade (pronounced sam-body), is its commitment to helping working, middle-class families who may be struggling to meet their basic needs. “Because I got laid off, I wanted to help people that lived right above the poverty line that couldn’t get government assistance because they made $10 too much,” she added. “We’re known for helping . . . people that fall through the cracks, who work two or Continued on page 4
It was something I had to do. It was my duty — I am the greatest generation.