Picnic in memory of late East Rockaway resident raises $15K for various organizations

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About 200 family members and friends of the late Mark Dejak gathered at Masone Beach in Island Park on Sept. 15 to play lawn games, enter raffles and raise money for various organizations.

They were there to commemorate the life of Dejak, a former East Rockaway resident who died in a motorcycle accident in 2010 at 21.

“It’s really just a special event for people to gather and honor my brother,” Ryan Dejak said.

Ryan, along with his family, founded the Making-A-Difference Foundation after Mark’s untimely death. The organization seeks to “continue Mark’s mission to support and provide assistance to those in our society who most need it,” according to its website.

To achieve that goal, the foundation has held a Mark Dejak Memorial Picnic event annually for the last nine years. This year’s picnic raised $15,000 to benefit the Lupus Foundation and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. In addition, the organization sponsored a veteran service dog named in Mark’s honor and raised money for scholarships for students attending St. Raymond’s Parochial School, in East Rockaway, and Kellenberg Memorial High School, in Uniondale.

The Lynbrook Deli catered food for the picnic and the afternoon included music from the band The Switch and Joseph “DJEclipse” Percora. To make this year’s picnic more memorable, the foundation also received a citation from the New York State Assembly in recognition of its outstanding achievement and community service.

“We are incredibly honored and moved by this recognition and hope to continue to contribute to our community for years to come,” Ryan said.

For more information about the Making-A-Difference Foundation visit www.making-a-difference.org.