Good News: Helping Women, Soldiers and Vets, Children and Entrepreneurs

Living Water for Women, Inc., a Glen Cove-based non-profit that helps women get back on their feet if they were incarcerated in Nassau County because of drug addiction, held an open house Saturday at 83 and 85 Glen Cove Avenue from 3-7 p.m.

Founded by Executive Director Lisa Cohn, the organization aims to help women overcome what it calls an “unprecedented surge in drug and alcohol addiction that adversely affects every member.

"Hairitage, the Journey of Sistahs with Their Hair," will be presented at Molloy College  Saturday, June 21 at 4 p.m. and 8pm.  The proceeds will benefit WORC, the Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center (WORC) of Hempstead, where one Port Washington family actively volunteers.   

The play is a story of six “Sistahs” who share the journey of their hair and the many different ways their hair has impacted their lives.  As the saying goes, “It will make you cry, make you laugh, make you think, and definitely make you feel empowered!”             

WORC is a multi service center offering an alternative to incarceration program for female offenders. WORC, Inc. assists the rehabilitation, breaking the cycle of recidivism by determining and addressing the root causes of their criminal behavior. Designed to help women become self-sufficient and empowered to divest them from public assistance.

R.C. Murphy Junior High School eighth-grader Eric Kirchner led the charge on a community service project aimed at providing the comforts of home to active-duty soldiers and veterans. Through the Ronkonkoma-based organization, Boots on the Ground New York, and with his family’s assistant, Eric volunteered at the food pantry that helps supply veterans with food and other needed supplies. Eric also coordinated a collection drive at the school.

With the help of the Murphy community, Eric collected a number of supplies – including protein bars, toothpaste, peanut butter and phone cards – for the organization. After the initial success of the project, Eric organized an effort to have students in every English class and some special areas write letters of appreciation to the soldiers. Many of these letters were emblazoned with stars, strips, flags and eagles.

In honor of Better Speech and Hearing Month, Sylvan Avenue Elementary School students and staff members once again worked to raise money to support the Smile Train. 

The organization is devoted to helping the millions of children in the world who suffer from cleft lip and palate through free surgery, free training for doctors and research to find a cure.

For the schoolwide effort, students and staff participated in a Smile Train weeklong fundraiser, which included several theme days and a mile walk around the grounds. This year, the school raised $3,372.91. With a corporate match, which quadrupled the amount collected by the school, nearly $16,000 was donated to the organization in Sylvan Avenue’s name.

“I actually went home that day and decided to listen to my own good advice about being creative and create a game of my own,” said Bonventre, who teaches at Miller Avenue School in Shoreham. “I wanted to create a game that got more people involved because with a lot of games, you typically have one person who is involved at a time, so I wanted to see if we could get three or four people involved.”

This led to the creation of RampShot, a backyard game where the objective is to toss a racquetball-sized bouncy ball into a hole on the top of one of two ramp-shaped game boards. Bonventre teamed up with good friend Texeira.