Event Aids Two Pearl River Families

Two Pearl River families dealt with difficult times beginning this past summer.

On July 14, Jeanne Tedesco died from a sudden heart attack at 51, leaving behind a husband and three children.

In August, Pearl River Middle School 7th grader Francesco Galvano was diagnosed with Leukemia. His ongoing battle with the disease kept him from joining his classmates in school this fall.

This all led to the creation of A Day for Two Families, a funderaiser to benefit the Galvano and Tedesco families from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday in the St. Margaret School cafeteria. Tedesco taught science at St. Margaret's. The event is sponsored by the Pearl River High School soccer and baseball programs and the St. Margaret's community.

"We had prizes donated that we will raffle off," said Pearl River High School teacher and soccer coach Damon O'Keefe. "One of the Irish bands is going to play for us. It will be a social gathering."

Soccer is one of the connections between the two families. Tedesco had been a board member and coach with the Orangetown Mighty Midgets. Tedesco's son Jake was a standout stopper for the Pearl River varsity as a senior this season. Two of Francesco's brothers, junior Giovanni and freshman Vincenzo, were also key players for the Pirates, who reached the Section 1 Class A quarterfinals.

"We had a lot of stuff going on with the team," O'Keefe said. "They all did a great job rallying around one another this year. Soccer helped get everybody's minds off things for a little bit. Both families were at a lot of games. Francesco was at a lot of games. Soccer helped them this year."

O'Keefe said that Francesco Galvano, who is also a soccer player, is still going through treatment.

"He's upbeat, always has a smile on his face," O'Keefe said.

The flier for the fundraiser can be found here. Tickets cost $30 for adults, $10 per child and include food and beverages. There will be a 50/50 drawing as well as the raffle, which costs $10 per ticket.

The raffle prizes are:

• $500 Nordstrom Gift Certificate
• $200 Macy's Gift Card
• $100 Staples Gift Card

Checks should be made out to Pearl River Soccer and donations can be mailed to Bruce Miller, a teacher and baseball coach at Pearl River High School. For more information, call Miller at (945) 620-3826 or O'Keefe at (845) 341-3153.

There will also be tables set up Saturday to take separate donations for each family.