Two high school students are devoting their spare time and energy to supporting families in need through their work with the YOLO Strong Foundation.
Grace Simodulski, of Oyster Bay, and Natalia Figoni, of Locust Valley, both 17, have taken leading roles in organizing and supporting fundraising efforts for the nonprofit, based in Oyster Bay, which helps families with medically fragile and terminally ill children.
Their involvement began through personal connections but quickly grew into a deeper commitment to community service.
Simodulski said that she and a friend “wanted to start something, and we wanted to be more involved in our community. So I texted Dannie,” she added, referring to Dannie Taylor, YOLO Strong’s founder and board chair, “because she’s a friend of my mom’s, and I know she’s always working on wonderful projects.”
Simodulski, a senior at Oyster Bay High School, said she and her friend helped spread the word about one of the foundation’s endurance races, helping to persuade their peers to take part.
“It got really big and very popular, so it was just such an amazing thing, like, that Dannie made,” Simodulski said. “It’s all because of her, and I’m so grateful for her.”
Figoni, a junior at Locust Valley High, said her path to the foundation also came through family ties, along with a desire to help others.
“My brother runs track with Dannie’s son, and so I was seeing her at these track meets,” Figoni explained. “I’ve had some issues in my medical history, and so I really just wanted to help out with these kids.”
Figoni got involved in organizing the foundation’s ninth annual Sauce Off fundraiser in Lindenhurst on Sept. 13 of 2025, helping to recruit volunteers, gather donations and assemble raffle baskets. The Sauce Off is a pasta-sauce-making competition that the foundation has hosted for the past nine years.
“I made some of the gift baskets,” Figoni said. “I went around town to get donations towards this and just post things about it.”
The event raised about $7,500, according to Taylor.
Taylor said that while the organization has had youth volunteers in the past, Simodulski and Figoni went beyond what is typically expected of them. “They’ve been proactive,” Taylor said. “They’ve asked how they can help in between the races.”
She said that Simodulski also played a key role in another fundraising effort, a “4 x 4 x 24” endurance event in which participants run four miles every four hours over the course of 24 hours.
“Gracie found a team of peers, and basically what happens is each of the teams shares our link to our donation site,” Taylor said. “Gracie’s team was the second-highest fundraising team.” Which was particularly impressive, Taylor added, because the top fundraising team was her own, made up of YOLO’s top leadership.
The funds raised at the events were directed to a Long Island family with a child who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
“We went over and we delivered a check,” Taylor said, “and we paid for six months of their mortgage.”
Both students described their experiences as challenging but ultimately rewarding. Both the race and the Sauce Off, despite the work required to make them happen, gave them the chance to see the results of that work.
“Getting all the baskets ready and remembering to post things and get volunteers was obviously a stressful thing while being in school and taking hard, accelerated courses,” Figoni said. “But I think the day of the Sauce Off for me was just really incredible, to see all the people show up and how all the work that you’ve been putting in for months comes together.”
Simodulski echoed those sentiments. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it: The first few weeks leading up to the 4 x 4 race, it was extremely stressful,” she said. “But it was honestly such a good time.”
Both said the experience has influenced their future plans, and added that they were interested in pursuing careers in nursing.
“I would tell people my age to join a community service,” Simodulski said, “because it actually feels like you’re doing something that truly matters.”
The impact of their work, Figoni said, has stayed with her. “It is just like one of the best feelings that you can experience,” she said, “being able to help with something this big and being able to change someone’s life just by volunteering.”
Their dedication, Taylor said, reflects the broader mission of the foundation, and how it has grown. “The fact that girls like Talia and Gracie have taken it on the way they have,” she said, “is probably one of the proudest moments that I think the foundation can look back on.”
