Farmingdale Mother Starts Fundraising Campaign to Help Family in Need

When Farmingdale mom Linda Deleo heard Katie Pryor's story, she knew she had to do something to help.

Katie, a 6-year-old with special needs, suddenly lost her mother, Lena, in July when she died of cardiac arrest.

"She was [Katie's] person," Tracy Williams, Katie's case manager at the St. Mary's Children Hospital in Bay Shore, said. "They were best friends, they did everything together. They had such a strong bond."

After that, Katie moved in with her grandmother, who is on a medicaid waiver program, but soon after found that that they were being evicted from their home due to the fact that they were told they did not need a three-bedroom home after Lena's death and would have to pay an extra $550 a month to stay.

"They are the type of family that doesn't have a lot but will still give what they have," Williams said.

Despite the fact that the family lives in Wyandanch, local mothers from the Farmingdale community quickly stepped in to help. According to Williams, upon learning about Lena's death, several local residents stepped in to purchase the cemetery plot.

Deleo, who did not know anyone in the family, felt she also had to do her part to help and did so by creating a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to try to raise money for the family.

"Her grandmother was floored by the help from the community," Williams said.

Deleo said she related to the situation since she also has a daughter with special needs.

"Children with special needs need stability," she said. "It's hard for them to understand change and since [Katie] already experienced so much change with the loss of her mother, I felt like I needed to do something to keep her in home she grew up in."

Deleo hopes to raise a total of about $5,000 for the family. So far, as of Thursday afternoon $515 has been raised.

"[Katie] is a beautiful little girl, she's sweet and she's shy until you get to know her," Williams said. "She lights up a room when you see her."

To donate to Katie's cause, visit her GoFundMe page here.