Parade committee's fundraising efforts surpasses expectations
The ‘Parade that Cares and Shares’ presents $72,000 to each of its three charities
Members of the Rockville Centre St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee gathered at Kasey’s Kitchen and Cocktails on May 8, where they presented each of the three charities — one local, one national, and one based in Ireland — with a check for $72,000.
“Our expectations for the 2024 parade season were exceeded beyond belief,” Jackie Kerr, president of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee, said. “We were floored by the generosity of all who donated to our worthy organization. Our grand marshal, Greg Schaefer, and our three deserving charities were stunned by the amount of money raised for them.”
Schaefer, 49, is the president and chief executive officer of the Better Home Health Care Agency. He was born and raised in Rockville Centre, where he currently lives with his wife, Michelle, their 12-year-old son, Cain, and their 10-year-old daughter, Cameron.
Thanks to Schaefer’s support, the committee was able to help raise more money for the three selected charities than ever before.
“Last year was a record-breaker for us,” Anne Travers, vice president of the parade committee, said. “We gave $60,000 to each of the charities. This year, through the help of the grand marshal, we were able to exceed that to provide $72,000 each.”
Since 1997, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee has helped distribute more than $1.5 million to charities all around the world. This year, three checks were presented to Beyond the Badge, the Limb Kind Foundation, and the Crocus Cancer Support Centre.
Beyond the Badge is a local nonprofit organization, created by two retired law enforcement officers, with the goal of raising awareness of suicide and mental health challenges among first responders.
The Limb Kind Foundation is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with limb loss, both domestically and internationally, by strengthening the amputee community and providing prosthetic care to those in need.
The Crocus Cancer Support Centre, located in County Monaghan, Ireland, is a peer support group for those living with cancer. Participants, who are at different stages of recovery, help support one another by sharing their own experiences and offering advice to others.
In addition to the check presentations, the committee presented awards to participants who marched in the 2024 RVC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, for their performance, design and overall participation in the festivities.
Known throughout the community as “The Parade that Shares and Cares,” the St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee has continued to help raise money for charity since its humble beginnings 27 years ago.
Past charities that have benefited from the parade include the Ryan Patrick O’Shea Foundation, HELP Uganda, and the St. Laserian’s School in Carlow, Ireland in 2023; the RVC Breast Cancer Coalition, Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund, and the Holy Family School for the Deaf in 2022; The Opening Word, The HEARTest Yard, and The New York Irish Center in 2019; Life’s WORC Family Center for Autism, Family Lives on Foundation, and the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany in 2018; the BackYard Players and Friends, Breathe Believe, and Pieta House in 2017; and the Tommy Brull Foundation, Children’s Tumor Foundation, and the Ballinasloe Eagles Special Olympics Club in 2016, along with countless others in the more than two decades since it started.
