PATHways Newsletter.pub - NAMI

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August/September 2010 NAMI Queens/Nassau PATHways Page 4 A Big Thank You to Everyone Who Made the Long Island/Queens NAMIWalks Such a Big Success! What a great day! This year’s walk was truly a celebration and the spirit was infectious as we greeted long time supporters, made new friends, and congratulated one another on the real strides we’re making in changing the face of mental illness. There are so many people to thank for making the 6th Annual NAMIWalks for the Mind of America such a special day. NAMIWalks Sponsors - Thanks to all our fabulous sponsors. (For a complete list go to www.nami.org/namiwalk/ny/ longisland) NAMI Queens/Nassau Walk Partners – Kudos to NAMIWalks co-sponsors, North Shore-LIJ Health System Zucker Hillside Hospital and their CEO, Joe Schulman for their great support. Many thanks to Zucker for being our top sponsor and fundraiser. Their Zucker Hillside super team raised over $19,000. We are so grateful! Also, a special thank you to Deb Mayo, team captain of the Central Suffolk Crusaders, for involving so many Suffolk County mental health agencies in the walk. NAMIWalks Behind the Scenes Team - Hats off to our NAMIWalks staff, including HJMT’s Kristie Galvani, our NAMI- Walks manager, who did so much to inspire great fundraising this year; Cheryl Fischetti for giving us such wonderful office support; Amy Lax for all the super publicity; Chrissy Thornton, NAMI National Walk manager, for urging us ever onward. A huge thank you to our Walk Day Team led by Al Dunlop and Larry Kenny, with Jessyca Berkman, Gloria Cohen, Rich De Martino, Sheila Gaeckler, Liz Reilly, Eugene Valkov, Ted Vecchio, and Bob Woods, for all the great behind the scenes planning, organizing, and walk day help. A special thank you to John Shorter, who joined our team this year and was a godsend with hanging banners, setup and take-down. Thank you, too, to Bruce Cohen, who was so helpful with setup walk morning. Also a big thank you as always to Gloria Cohen and the Meadowbrook Women’s Initiative (formerly the Brandees), who get us all those wonderful volunteers every year for registration. We couldn’t do it without you! Music & Sound - Kudos to Jessyca Berkman and Eugene Valkov for getting us such wonderful bands and sound. Our gratitude to super bands Big Daddy & the Bulldogs and Breakaway for donating their time and exceptional talent, courtesy of the Long Island Blues Society. They really rocked! Thanks to Gloria Cohen for getting us an amazingly talented high school band, Lazy Bird. Hats off to J & H Production for great sound. It couldn’t have been better. Drumming by Gaia Drum Ministry, thanks to Sharon Nanos and Sheila Gaeckler, was a special treat on the walk route. Food & Drink – Great snacks, drinks, and water, and all of it donated by local stores - Whole Foods of Manhasset; Costco of Westbury; Pat’s Farm of North Merrick, Stop & Shop, North Bellmore. Special thanks to NS-LIJ Zucker Hillside Hospital for supplying apples and snacks at registration. And thanks as always to Friendly’s, who once again treated the first 1500 walkers to hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks. Media & Theatre – Thanks to News 12 for publicizing the walk. It really helped! Angela Anton for those wonderful fullpage ads in Anton Community News. We really appreciate the great top of the column and front page coverage we got in Anton’s Healthy Living Section. Thank you, Dan Rosset! Many thanks to Cablevisions’s Neighborhood Journal for covering the walk and spending so much time with us. A special thank you to Tom D’Ambrosio, publicist for Next to Normal for the free tickets and the opportunity to speak to cast members. Your show means so much to us! Artwork – Recovery Panels by SAIL, FEGS, and Mercy Haven Horizon PROS were inspirational artistic creations. Signs for bands, food, etc. were beautifully designed by the multi-talented Jessyca Berkman. Face painting by Teddy Wegner and her clown partners added to the fun of the day. Warm-up – A high intensity warm-up courtesy of Esther Feldman of Sport Time Pro Health Fitness, led by our very own Gloria Keyloun, was incredibly energizing and got the walk off to a great start. NAMIWalks Heroes – Our heartfelt thanks to those special team captains and/ or individuals who raised $2,500 or more. (In alphabetical order.) Jerry Chang/Anoopinder Singh, Zippy Zuckers Alice Cohen, The Friendship Network A -Team Gloria Cohen, Meadowbrook Women’s Initiative Denise Coscia/Tara Mandel, ZHH Racing Researchers Teri Herzog/Lin Kaplan, Our 2 Sons Dr. Isak Isakov, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Lorraine Kaplan, Breaking the Silence Al Landau, Randi’s Cyclones Linda Manzo, Silent No More: Weber Cares Deb Mayo, NAMI Central Suffolk Crusaders Lynne McGrail, Don’t Just Talk..Walk Diane Nisito, Shawn’s Soldiers Andrea Perkins, Hofstra Rehab Counseling Rocks Janet Reilly, P.A.M. ( Parents Against Mental Illness) Janet Susin, Breaking the Silence Ted Vecchio, NAMI Queens/Nassau Carol Ann Viccora, Tina Marie’s Hope Ruth Wolosoff, Breaking the Silence NAMIWalks Stars – Finally a big thank you to all those who met the goal of $1,000 we set for every team. You made it! Linda Barone, ZHH Day Steppers Jessicamarie Brennan, Family and Children’s Association Sandie Biondi, ZHH Racing Researchers Kieran Cassilli, Shawn’s Soilders Bruce Cohen, The “A” Team Carmine DeSena, ZHH Dept of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Evan Feuer, ZHH Dept Of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Barbara Garner, The “A” Team Judith Gold, The Karen Team Janine Haynes, The Straight Jackets Maria Karamitsos, Hillside Highsteppers Ken Klassert, ZHH Dept of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Lisa Lumia, ZHH Dept of Psychiatric Rehabilitation (Continued on page 5)
August/September 2010 NAMI Queens/Nassau PATHways Page 5 Thousands Walk to Change the Face of Mental Illness By AMY LAX Press Release Long Island, NY-June 2010—Over 4,000 people walked in the 2010 LI/ Queens NAMIWalks on May 23 at Jones Beach. In addition to local corporate sponsors, over 100 teams registered and helped raise over $200,000 to support services and programs for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Queens/Nassau and other local NAMI chapters while raising awareness about mental illness. NAMIWalks team captains led the way and spoke movingly about why they walked. “We walk as a family in support of my niece Randi. A high achiever, she received her MBA from Georgetown University and had a competitive NYC job. But Randi began to have difficulties and no one knew why. Eventually she was hospitalized and diagnosed with mental illness. Luckily, she accepted and shared her illness with us. Today Randi gets the help she needs, is a teacher, and accepts each day as it comes. We hope to inspire others to tear down the barriers of stigma, silence, and fear that surround mental illness,” shared Randi’s uncle, Al Landau, Randi’s Cyclone team captain. “I met my co-team captain, Lin Kaplan, at a Hospice Bereavement group for parents who have lost a child. Although my son’s passing was not due to mental illness, I met other parents who lost children to mental illness. NAMIWalks was the perfect way to support those families and honor the memory of my son Jordan,” explained Teri Herzog, Our Two Sons coteam captain. “NAMIWalks is an important venue for generating awareness about mental illness within our community. We must provide opportunities for those with mental illness to be heard and respected. I will continue to walk with NAMI, creating dialog, awareness, and understanding among patients, doctors and the community,” said Isak Isakov M.D., Jamaica Hospital Medical Center team captain. “I formed Shawn's Soldiers because my dear friend Shawn Cassillo struggled with both mental illness and substance abuse issues from the time we were teenagers until his tragic death three months ago. NAMIWalks draws attention to the silence that is imposed upon the mentally ill community; lifting that burden from their shoulders. NAMIWalks is a commitment to those suffering and offers an opportunity to change personal perceptions and public policies relating to the treatment of individuals with mental illnesses. We walked in the hopes that our presence and the funds we raised might prevent other individuals with mental illness from suffering the same fate as Shawn”, offered Diana Nisito, Shawn’s Soldiers team captain. NS-LIJ Health System/the Zucker Hillside Hospital, NAMIWalks Major Sponsor, had 13 walk teams that raised $18,600. Anton Community Newspapers was the Gold Sponsor. NAMIWalks is a national walk campaign to raise awareness about mental illness and funds to support NAMI programs and services. NAMI is a nationwide, grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to making a better life for all those affected by mental illness through support, education & advocacy. Thank you to everyone who made the L.I./Queens Walk a success... (Continued from page 4) Victoria Lupo, Hillside Highsteppers Jennifer Mark, No Such Thing as Normal Gina Molinet, The ZHH Ambulators Diana Nisto, Shawn’s Soilders Maryann Riccardo, The ZHH Ambulators Lisa Robbins, ZHH Day Steppers Shawn’s Soldiers Shawn’s brothers Kiernan and Alec Cassillo Our Two Sons (l. to r.) Teri Herzog, Peter Herzog, Alan Gordon, Joe Goldman, Susan Rosenthal Randi’s Cyclones Robet Savitt, Walk With Bob Richard Staab, South Shore Association for Independent Living Alison Tomlet, Concern Pauline Walfisch, The ZHH Ambulators Jamesetta Williams, The Hot Steppers Marilyn Vallejo, Creedmoor Stars
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