Fundraiser Started To Help Family Of Late Local Father

LINDENHURST, NY - A fundraising campaign was started to help the family of a longtime local resident who recently passed away. Jeff Schaffer, of Lindenhurst, unexpectedly died on Nov. 11, 2019. He was 49.

Following his death, Diane DiFruscio created a GoFundMe page to help raise money to help Schaffer's family.

DiFruscio posted a heartfelt message from Schaffer's oldest daughter, Amanda Schaffer, to the page.

"Jeff Schaffer worked everyday to provide for his wife, two kids, and his mother. He was a baseball coach, basketball coach, any kind of coach my brother needed when he was playing sports," Amanda wrote. "Jeff did his absolute best to never miss a practice and never let any kid feel like they weren't contributing to the team. He was hard on us but only out of love. He wanted our lives to be better than his, as he would often say. His passing has happened so quickly and staggeringly."

The page is hoping to reach a goal of $7,000 for the Schaffer family. In less than 24 hours, the page raised a total of $2,614.

The money will be helping the family cover the cost of the funeral and to give them at least another month in their current home before finding a "new beginning," according to the GoFundMe.

A visitation has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lindenhurst Funeral Home on 424 South Wellwood Avenue.

For more information or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.