56.0°,
A Few Clouds Back the Blue deliver donation to Ryder
On Jan. 3, Laura Dupkin Memisha, Maureen Conklin and Liz Greco partnered with Wantagh’s Ridgewood Tavern owner Mike Paccione to raise money for police’s widowed families. Paccione is a retired New York City Police Department detective, and Dupkin Memisha’s husband is a retired police officer. Conklin’s husband is currently serving a officer. Greco, of Pies On Wheels, and her husband, Tony, are both retired NYPD officers.
The ties to law enforcement are apparent. The trio of women wanted to give back in a different way. They landed on raising money for widowed families of fallen officers.
On Friday, Jan. 24, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder welcomed Dupkin Memisha, Greco and Conklin into police headquarters in Mineola, where, they presented him with a check for $3,537. The money will be allocated to the NCPD Line of Duty Foundation, a fund started in 2008 that provides monetary relief to fallen police officers’ families.
“Wantagh is a standup community,” Ryder said. “When the community comes together, and they come together for cops who keep us safe everyday, and their families, that goes a long way.”
Dupkin Memisha reflected on the successful fundraising night, saying: “We have a vested interest, and so do the people of Wantagh. We are so proud to be able to do this for the police department.”
Conklin added: “It’s good to know that more people care than don’t.”
The money will be added to Line of Duty Fund and hopefully, Ryder says, it won’t have to be used anytime soon. “It’s held until a need arises,” Ryder said. The releasing of the money is at Ryder’s discretion. He mentioned that the most recent recipients were a family of an NCPD officer who had died after electrocuting.
Ryder added that sometimes, it is frustrating when having to stick to a budget where he can’t allocate certain resources for purposes like this as often as he’d like. But, he said, having community members who still revere police officers and go out of their way to help families in need is special.
