Kings Park / Commack Alumni Hockey Game : Bringing a community together for a great cause

Community. Few things make me prouder than personally impacting others to make a difference in the community. I recently had the honor and privilege to be part of two great causes and one amazing event that did just that. The Kings Park/Commack alumni hockey team was looking to set up fundraiser hockey game against some New York Islanders alumni, in an effort to support two great foundations. the Sarah Grace Foundation and the Frank Rizzo Memorial Scholarship Fund.
I have known the Rizzo family for over 20 years and when Kevin Barratinni called me to see if I could help out or offer some advice on his idea for the fundraising game, I was honored and excited to do something that involved so much community spirit and also, my favorite New York sports team.

I made a call to hockey legend a good friend of mine, Clark Gilles and before you knew it we had an overwhelming amount of support. From the likes of Bobby Nystrom, Benoit Hogue, Pat LaFontaine, Boomer Esiason, Peter Ferraro, Billy Guerin and more, we created the Kings Park/Commack Alumni VS. The Islanders Alumni. To help spread the word, we reached out to our Facebook community, that we started last year when we helped inspire thousands of Long Islanders to come together to build a home for the Lutz family for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Word spread and before we knew it, we had a fundraiser game scheduled to take place in a sold out Commack Ice Rink!! While my skating skills are rather limited, I could simply not pass up the opportunity to lace up the skates and be part of this amazing experience. The video appears to be lost, but I’m telling you, I scored a flashy goal on a penalty shot and I will not give up finding that video footage!! The game was a huge success in bringing together a great community and raising money for two well deserved causes. I encourage everyone to get out there and make a difference in your community. It’s not just about money and not everyone can be in the position to make financial donations. You could change the lives of others by volunteering with an organization, or even a neighbor simply by helping mow the lawn of a senior couple, or helping them with a few things around the house. Thank you, Sal Ferro To learn more about the Sarah Grace and Frank Rizzo foundations and their stories, visit thesarahgracefoundation.org or frankierizzo.com

Pictures of the event can be seen here