Jake's Wayback Burger Holds Fundraiser For Family Help Center

If you wandered into Jake's Wayback Burger on Thursday, June 2, and ordered a Big Jake, you may have been surprised that a chunk of your tab was bypassing the register and going directly to charity.

20 percent of all purchases made between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. that day were donated to the YES Community Counseling Center, a family help center based in Massapequa.

According to Najaf Riaz, owner of the new Jake's Wayback Burger located at 5288 Sunrise Highway, this franchise has always extended a helping hand to locals.

"Back in Delaware, where Jake's originally started from, we were known as community people...we did a lot of fundraisers out there," he said. "That's the way to succeed in business...we helped the community, the community helped us. And that's what we're trying to do in New York...we want the community to know that we're good people."

Jaime E. Bogenshutz, executive director of the YES Community Counseling Center, was on-hand at Jake's on Thursday, running a raffle contest.

"YES Community Counseling Center has been serving Massapequa, Plainedge and Farmingdale for the past 35 years," she said. "We're a non-profit agency and our mission is to work with children and their families and improve the quality of their lives."

The Center works with people struggling with all different kinds of issues and challenges, including drug and alcohol problems, domestic violence, child abuse, issues with divorce, death, and separation, anxiety, and bullying.

"Anything that comes up in the life of a young child and their family," Bogenshutz added.

The Center especially needs help now, as recently one of their several funding streams - State Aid - was recently cut by 32%.

"We're still going strong and growing," Bogenshutz said. "But any cut is a cut...that means that we have to work harder, and we have to hold more fundraisers to keep the services at the same level that they're at."

Bogenshutz was actually taken aback by Riaz's generosity when approached about this particular fundraiser.

"Jake's actually contacted us," she said. "We usually do much bigger things, such as dinners and golf outings, but we thought this sounded like a good idea, so we gave it a try."

John Budnick was pleased when he learned that 20 percent of his bill was going to help those in need.

"I didn't even know about [the fundraiser] until I came down," he said. "I've seen what drugs and alcohol can do to people, and this is a good cause."

Robert Sepe had made a point to come down to Jake's that day to help support YES.

"I'm a fan of Jake's anyway," he said. "And to help out an organization that, in turn, helps so many...I'm there."