W.H. Lions Club brings smiles to kids with cancer

Children being treated for cancer at NYU Long Island Hospital will soon receive surprise care packages filled with gifts and games — all thanks to the West Hempstead Lions Club.

“If I can make them smile for even one second of their day then we did our job,” said Antonella Verderosa, president of the club. “They are faced with such hardship at a young age, and they just want to be kids at the end of the day.”

“These children have difficult roads ahead of them,” said Mia Murphy, vice president, “and I am hopeful that our goodie bags bring some happiness to all of the kids who receive them.”

The club, a volunteer organization, gathered in the basement of St. Thomas the Apostle R.C. Church, in West Hempstead, and filled 100 backpacks with gifts for the children. The bags were stuffed with fuzzy socks, bucket hats, puzzle books, pencils and Target gift cards, as well as gas gift cards for their caretakers who bring the children to cancer treatments. The 20 bags for infant patients were filled with onesies, sippie cups, and socks in addition to the Target and gas gift cards.

The West Hempstead Lions Club were joined in their project, on May 25, by Long Island Pride, and the Lions Clubs of Massepequa and Massepequa Park.

One of the Lions Club international initiatives is helping pediatric cancer patients. The West Hempstead Lions Club has also cooked for the families of children undergoing cancer treatments, and has done projects with the Ronald McDonald house, a charity organization for families of children dealing with sickness.

Joseph Murphy, second vice president of the West Hempstead Lions Club and husband to Mia Murphy, is a cancer survivor himself. He is 9 years cancer-free.

“It means the world to me to help in any way possible,” Joseph Murphy said. “To make a child smile, or possibly forget for even just a moment, there is no better feeling.”

Volunteering for the community is what the West Hempstead Lions Club is all about. Verderosa, who has been a member for almost a decade, originally joined to get more involved in recycling projects. Mia Murphy, a member for 6 years, got involved as a way to continue volunteering her time to help her community once her children got too old for her to be involved with the Parent Teacher Student Association. Joseph Murphy, also a member for 6 years, originally joined the club to continue volunteering for the community after his time as assistant scout master of West Hempstead Boy Scout Troop 240 came to an end. Terri Oster has been volunteering since she was 14 years old, and has been a member of the West Hempstead Lions Club for 16 years. She said the club is a way to give back to her community.