Wantagh Explorers host fundraiser for injured adviser

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Wantagh Fire Department Explorer Post 690 hosted a pasta dinner for the community on March 26. The group’s annual fundraiser had an extra purpose this year because the teens donated a portion of the proceeds they collected from admission fees to beloved adviser.

Christine Newins, a 52-year-old Levittown resident, was nearly killed in a car accident last month. Because Christine and her husband, Wantagh firefighter Chris Newins, have advised the Explorers for years and gave back to the Wantagh-Seaford-Levittown community in many ways, leaders of the youth group said that they wanted to raise money to offset her medical expenses.

Christine and her son, Patrick, a 21-year-old MacArthur High School alumnus and former punter for the Generals, traveled to California so he could train with former NFL kicker John Carney in preparation for the regional combine at the Washington Redskins training facility on Feb. 25. All of the Newins children — Jennifer, Patrick’s twin, and Brian, 18 — are athletes like their mother, a star volleyball player who was inducted into the Hofstra University Hall of Fame.

Christine decided to share her athletic knowledge with both her children and their friends by coaching and volunteering for the Levittown Soccer Club, Levittown North Baseball and volleyball leagues based in St. Bernard’s Church in Levittown and St. Frances de Chantal Church in Wantagh. She was also active at her kids’ schools, serving as the historian for the PTA at East Broadway Elementary in Seaford and chairing the MacArthur High School Goal Club to raise money for the Generals’ soccer program.

Shortly after she dropped Patrick off at the camp, a 24-year-old motorist driving a convertible hit her, according to the Carlsbad Police Department. Since the accident, she has had five surgeries and may have another later this year, Chris said. Her left kidney and spleen were removed. She broke six ribs on her left side and eight on her right, which punctured and caused her lung to collapse. Pins, rods, screws and plates helped stabilize fractures in her ribs, both collarbones and her left leg. She also suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed a cranial plug.

A few days after the accident, Barbara Ann Moore Cast, Christine’s sister, created a page on FreeFunder called “Support Christine Moore Newins.” She used it to update concerned friends and family about Christine’s health and raise more than $24,000 thus far for Christine and Chris.

The Explorers held their own fundraiser at Fire Department headquarters. The program is for boys and girls ages 14 to 21 who are considering entering the Fire Department or becoming emergency medical technicians.