This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

$25,000 Donated to Tribute and Honor Foundation

The Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation's Gift will support the work of the foundation as it honors veterans and supports veteran causes.

P. Frome, Community Contributor
|
Members of the Tribute and Honor Foundation's Board and Liaison Team are pictured accepting a donation of $25,000 from the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation.
Members of the Tribute and Honor Foundation's Board and Liaison Team are pictured accepting a donation of $25,000 from the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation. (Photo Courtesy Tribute and Honor Foundation. )

L-R: Liaison Member Wayne Cohen, 1st Vice President Connie Pinilla, Esq., Treasurer Thomas Bunger, Secretary Angelina Stanco-Stone, President Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, 2nd Vice President Harold Bollaci, Esq., Board Member Lydia Wen Rodgers, Board Member Mike Gadaleta, and Liaison Member Virginia Cervasio. Photo courtesy Tribute and Honor Foundation.

The Peter and Jeri Dejana Foundation recently granted $25,000 to the Tribute and Honor Foundation, Inc., a Long Island-based non-profit veteran support organization, to aid in their efforts within the veteran community.

The Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation's generous contribution will advance the Tribute and Honor Foundation's mission to honor and support veterans and their families across Long Island. Furthermore, the donation will play an important role in helping assure the longevity of the Tribute and Honor Foundation's recently instituted Ben Farnan Scholarship Fund. The scholarship, named for Korean War veteran and Tribute and Honor Foundation’s 2022 Legacy Award recipient Ben Farnan, is dedicated to graduating seniors from Glen Cove, Locust Valley, and North Shore High Schools who are entering the military or a military academy upon graduating. The Tribute and Honor Foundation will be working closely with the schools in identifying exceptional young people from each school to receive the annual scholarship.

Peter Dejana, a successful Port Washington entrepreneur, and his wife, Jeri, established their family foundation in 2011 to benefit nonprofits on Long Island. Their recent gift to the Tribute and Honor Foundation demonstrates the Dejanas’ continued commitment to supporting veterans and their families. “The board and I are profoundly grateful to Peter and Jeri Dejana, and the entire Dejana Foundation, for their extraordinary generosity,” said Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, President of the Tribute and Honor Foundation.

Board and Liaison Members of the Tribute and Honor Foundation proudly display Sponsor Boards for the upcoming Awards Ceremony and Fundraising Gala, set to take place on February 3rd at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville. The left sponsor board prominently features the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, which recently made a generous donation of $25,000 to the foundation. The right sponsor board highlights the Dejana Foundation alongside other sponsors from across the North Shore, including Silver Star Sponsor ($3,000) American Community Bank, Bronze Star Sponsors ($1,000) Bollaci Law Group PC, Lydia and Michael Rodgers, Gregor Industries, Emerge Nursing and Rehabilitation, and Glen Cove Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. Meritorious Service Sponsors include Manzione Dentistry, North Coast Internal Medicine, PC, Mayor Pam and Bob Panzenbeck, Better Water, CareFirst Home Solutions, Celeste Gullo Insurance Agency, Compass - The Connie Pinilla Team, Glen Cove Republican Committee, Glengariff Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, John Perone - State Farm Insurance, Loggia Glen Cove Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, The Mansion at Glen Cove, Phoenix Diversified Group, and The Regency Glen Cove. The foundation is greatly appreciative of all the sponsors. The sponsor boards will undergo another update after our January 16th sponsorship deadline. For more information about becoming a sponsor, please visit www.phoenixrisingaward.com.

The Tribute and Honor Foundation began in December of 2021 when Glen Cove resident, Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, met with Jeanine DiMenna, owner of Glen Cove’s The View Grill. Stevenson-Mathews had an idea for a fundraising event and awards ceremony to benefit VFW Post 347 following a devastating fire that occurred at the post earlier in the year. With DiMenna’s help, Stevenson-Mathews formed a committee, scheduled a meeting with the leadership of VFW Post 347, secured liaison members to provide input to the committee, and hosted their first Annual Awards Ceremony and Fundraising event. Within months following the first Awards Ceremony, plans were underway for a 2nd annual celebration, additional members were brought on board, and the organization was officially incorporated.

Find out what's happening in Glen Covefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Honorees
2024 honorees to be presented awards on February 3rd include Anthony Anzalone, Luke Whitting, Chad Ryals, David Christie, Derek Valance, Lisa and Wayne Cohen, Stefan and Jenny Hespeler, and Honor Flight Long Island. Not all honorees are pictured above and Vietnam Veteran and VFW Liaison to the board, Howard Stillwagon, is sitting in for Luke Whitting. Photograph courtesy Tribute and Honor Foundation. .

To date, the Tribute and Honor Foundation has raised close to $50,000 for VFW Post 347, supports programs such as the Glen Cove Library’s VetNow Program, and has honored over twenty local heroes both locally and from across Long Island.

In recognition of the recent gift, the Tribute and Honor Foundation is naming the Peter and Jeri Dejana Foundation as Event Sponsor for the organization's upcoming Gala and Awards Ceremony to be held on February 3rd at 6 pm at the Crescent Beach Club. The Tribute and Honor Foundation hopes to raise $100,000 through this year’s gala, better enabling the organization to serve Long Island Veterans. A portion of the proceeds will also support the Ben Farnan Scholarship fund.
For more information on the Tribute and Honor Foundation, including ticket and sponsorship opportunities for the foundation’s upcoming Gala and Awards Ceremony, please visit www.phoenixrisingawards.com.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Glen Cove