Holiday Giving: PSEG Employees Help WWII Vet, 96, Clean Up Yard

WADING RIVER, NY — Just in time for the holidays, more than 20 PSEG Long Island employee volunteers — including a Wading River man —took time to help a World War II veteran and his wife get their Melville home back in shape.

Partnering with the Moonjumpers charitable foundation, volunteers filled a dumpster with home and yard debris, delighting Army Air Force veteran, Morris “Monty” Koffer and his wife Edith, PSEG said in a release.

“I asked my wife — she had to pinch me because I can’t believe what I see here,” said Koffer as he watched the team remove branches, three-year-old leaves in the yard and accumulated items from the home. “Everything is done. It was like a wild forest with dead branches all over the yard. It’s amazing to see how they cleaned it up. They did a remarkable job. It’s beautiful. It looks like a new house. We’re very, very thankful.”

“When you’re 96, yard work and housecleaning are not chores that come easy,” said PSEG Long Island meter technician Frank Moorhus, who connected the PSEG Long Island volunteer group to the opportunity to give back when a mutual acquaintance told him of disrepair at the Koffer home, PSEG said.

Senior Program Support Analyst John Pratnicki, of Wading River, and his fellow volunteers were proud to roll up their sleeves and get the job done for the grateful homeowners. “When Frank asked for volunteers, I was delighted to step forward,” Pratnicki said. “There is nothing I enjoy more than being able to help members of our community, especially during the holiday season.”

PSEG Long Island employees are involved with local charity events and organizations through the company’s Community Partnership Program. In 2017, PSEG Long Island participated in 1,100 events supporting more than 400 organizations.

Patch photo courtesy PSEG Long Island.