2022 Beach Ball honors a special needs group

Linda Cunningham was a vivacious young woman who loved to be surrounded by family and friends and never missed out on an opportunity to have fun. She was a person with an intellectual and developmental disability, but that didn’t stop her from living life to the fullest.

She was a well-known member of Camp Anchor, in Lido Beach, a facility that serves thousands of children and adults with special needs who live in Nassau County. She shined the brightest when she was participating in the drama program. Talking the most during rehearsals, smiling bright on stage and making her way to the front during the applause at the end, Linda thrived in this outlet.

Each year, the Camp Anchor Program Fund hosts its annual Beach Ball event at the Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park, a one-night event filled with live music, a raffle and food as they extend their appreciation for the community that has donated to the Lido Beach camp for people with special needs.

This year, the Foundation chose to honor the Lindy Loo Foundation. 

The Lindy Loo Foundation began nearly 10 years ago, with the passing of Linda in 2012. In honor of Linda, the family put together the foundation with a mission to improve the social lives of adult and children with IDD. The foundation has donated over one million dollars to several programs, including the Anchor Program Fund and the Camp Anchor Drama Program.

“It is amazing, for every season, I can’t even count the number of years, they have granted us with a lot of money,” said Sandy Braun, the director of the drama program. “Their generosity through the face of tragedy is astounding and, for me, it is such an honor to be a part of honoring them.”

Camp Anchor is a comprehensive, year-round program that organizes several recreational activities for children and adults with special needs. The camp’s drama program, that has been nationally recognized, is designed to build self-confidence and develop skills in the performing arts. Linda had been a participant for nearly 10 years.

“She loved being the center of attention, she loved everyone showing up to watch her,” said Elizabeth Cunningham, sister of Linda and youngest of the Cunningham siblings. “She loved the social aspect of performing and just going to the drama program, and it really made her life. The drama program was a wonderful outlet for her.”

The program meets once a week to rehearse for their annual springtime production. They have put on 31 performances, and usually see crowds of upwards of 700 people. The program has even had Broadway actors join them on their stage to be a part of the campers’ show.

“It is an outlet for young adults with special needs to be creative,” said Braun. “When you have a young adult with special needs, they may not get to experience certain milestones, but this is a huge milestone for these kids, to act out their hearts on stage for these crowds with standing room only and get that applause at the end.”

The foundation is made up of Linda’s family members who wanted to honor Linda’s remarkable social life. With her activity in Camp Anchor, Linda had made many friends, and her siblings recalled her being out every night of the week. The foundation has around 20 organizations that they annually donate to that help to enrich the lives of people with special needs, Camp Anchor and the drama program being the one they have donated most to, since Linda was especially fond of it.

“Turning a tragedy into something positive is very important and I’m super happy we were able to have a positive influence on hundreds of kids’ lives,” said Michael Cunningham, brother of Linda.

Not only does the foundation donate money to the drama program, but Ellen Cunningham, Linda’s mom, had attended every show to give flowers to the campers following their performance. The flowers are always purple, since that was Linda’s favorite color.

“It is a terrific program and they always put on a great production,” said Ellen Cunningham. “It is very nice that they are honoring us and recognizing our foundation for the hard work we do.”

During the Beach Ball Event on Friday, July 15, the Anchor Program Fund had bestowed the foundation with a plaque that read, “In memory of Linda, whose light, love and legacy enriches us all.”

The Beach Ball event is the largest fundraiser that the nonprofit puts on every year to raise money to support the camp’s programming and to afford extras for the campers, such as the trips to see Broadway shows in the city that the drama program would typically have multiple times a year. This year, the first since 2019 to be back in the Bridgeview Yacht Club, the Beach Ball event saw around 350 people in attendance.

At the event, there were nearly 50 raffle baskets that had been put together by the families of the campers. The camp had made over $5,000 dollars from the purchasing of raffle tickets alone.

Susan Cuoccio, the president of the Anchor Program Fund, said that the program is looking into several things to add to the camp, including a playground that will be provided by the town, and a surrounding area that will be put in by the nonprofit that will serve as an inclusion area for children, adults and seniors.

Cuoccio began with Camp Anchor 25 years ago, when her son who has autism joined. She said she was able to watch the program grow and evolve greatly throughout the years.

“I like people to understand how heavily we depend on their generosity, and the money all goes into the camp. Camp Anchor depends a lot on the generous donations from parents and local businesses. It is year-round, fall, spring and summer, we are always supporting the campers and providing for things.”

Visit www.campanchor.org/fund to learn more and donate to the Anchor Program Fund.