FCA Hosts Annual Fall Harvest Celebration

FCA is one of Nassau County’s oldest and largest nonprofit health and human services organizations, each year providing critical support and services to more than 30,000 Long Islanders. On Thursday, November 10, FCA will host its largest fundraiser, the 2022 Fall Harvest Celebration, at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. Attendees, including local government and business leaders, donors, beneficiaries, and friends, will help raise the vital funds that allow FCA to continue to serve Long Island’s most vulnerable residents.

This year, FCA welcomes Linda Beigel Schulman as its Fall Harvest honoree. Beigel Schulman is the mother of Scott J. Beigel, the teacher and cross-country coach who sacrificed his life to save the lives of 31 of his students at the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida. A well-known and formidable advocate for reasonable gun safety legislation on the State and Federal levels, Beigel Schulman created the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund as a way to address and end the gun violence epidemic through education and legislation. In 2022, the Fund gave out grants totaling $283,600 that sent 212 underserved and at-risk youth to sleep-away camp for the summer.

“Linda’s firm belief in the value of providing children with positive alternatives to guns, gangs, and violence aligns perfectly with FCA’s mission,” said Jeffrey L. Reynolds, Ph.D., President and CEO of FCA. “Our young people deserve safe neighborhoods and schools in which they can learn and grow free from fear of violence.”

FCA will also honor Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder as its James J. Harnett award recipient in recognition of his work implementing life-saving programs and initiatives which have helped ensure officer and public safety and helped bring crime in Nassau County to historic lows. The county has earned “Safest Community in America” status from U.S. News and World Report for the last three years in a row.

Donna T. Bacon, Ph.D., recipient of this year’s Carol Wessel Humanitarian award, is deeply dedicated to the education, empowerment and health promotion of underserved individuals and communities on Long Island. A tenured Professor at Nassau Community College, Bacon was the first woman and only African American voted Chair of the Health Studies department. She was also appointed Chief Investigative Officer by the NCC President to train and assist in consistent and proper investigation of incidents of sexual misconduct within the campus community.

All proceeds from the Fall Harvest Celebration will help to enhance FCA’s programs and services for Long Island’s most vulnerable children, families, seniors and communities.

To learn more about the Fall Harvest, sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, please visit FCALI.org/harvest. Additional information on upcoming events is also available at FCALI.org or through Vice President of Strategic Advancement and Chief Development Officer Paige O’Brien, at (516)746-0350 x 4320 or PObrien@FCALI.org.

About FCA

FCA is a not-for-profit agency helping more than 30,000 Long Islanders each year. For the last 138 years, the organization has worked to protect and strengthen vulnerable children, seniors, families and communities on Long Island.

FCA believes in the potential of Long Island - a place where no child, senior, family or community is left to struggle alone with barriers to health care, education, employment or economic prosperity. Long Island continues to be one of the greatest place in the world to live and raise a family for many; FCA exists to ensure that be the case for all.

For more information about FCA, visit FCALI.org