‘Giving Is Good Business’: RVC Business Crosses $1M In Veterans Donations

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY. — The Wednesday morning league at Maple Lanes had some well-dressed guests Wednesday, as the bowling alley played host to a celebration: The LaSpina family, proprietors of Maple Lanes and four other bowling alleys across New York and Florida, had officially raised over $1 million for Bowlers to Veterans Link, a charity that uses the game as a recreational therapy and rehabilitation tool for former members of the armed forces.

The fundraising effort started shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with multiple locations asking for spare change from patrons. From there, it became a tournament with a $5 entry fee, with all the proceeds going to BVL. The LaSpinas — John and Joe, a father-son duo — called it “rain barrel theory,” saying they’ve marched to the million-dollar mark with a massive amount of small donations and a few larger, anonymous ones.

Over the years, that money has helped veterans in a few different ways. For some, it was the use of VR to show service members the house they grew up in. For others, it was the chance to show them the view from the cockpit of their service plane one more time. In other cases, the donations from BVL have financed eye gazers, a piece of machinery that allows people without use of their limbs to use their eyes to control computers, tablets and communication devices.

In a conversation with Patch Wednesday, Long Beach native John LaSpina said theirs is still, “a family business,” no matter how much money they’ve raised to help veterans. The fact that a family-run organization could collect so many donations, LaSpina said, was an important message to send into the community.

“We want to talk about it, raise the awareness, not only in the industry…but to the community at large, that a little company like ours can be a meaningful member of the community,” LaSpina said. “My son really runs the company, my daughter is involved, my wife is here, it’s a little family business trying to do good. And that’s because giving is good business.”

The giving doesn’t end at the business, either. Some of the people in attendance Wednesday said John’s wife, Anita, leads a crochet and knitting group that donates to Long Beach Waterfront Warriors, and is vice president of the public library board of trustees.

For Jessica Abel, executive director of Bowlers to Veterans Link, the partnership with Maple Family Centers is one that’s all about community. Abel has been at BVL since 2024 — John LaSpina was previously the chairman of BVL — and she said the amount of community support the family has generated speaks to the kind of community they’ve built around the lanes.

“We don’t have anybody that has done what this family has done, and what they continue to do. What’s really special to me is…John made a really big impact as chairman of BVL, but after that title ended, he has leaned in even more,” Abel said. “They just want to keep giving more, and I think that says a lot about the family, and the community that they’ve built here. They’ve got their whole staff, all of their bowlers, to buy into that.”

The LaSpinas added that, while they’ve been at the center of the giving, much of the effort has come from the people who bowl at Maple Family Centers lanes.

“The cool thing about what we’ve done is a lot of our customers, they just love it. They buy in,” Joe LaSpina said. While John grew up in Long Beach, Joe said he grew up in Rockville Centre and is raising his kids here. “People are happy to do it, which is great. These folks in this Wednesday league, most of them are here 60 times a year, we know them well…It’s the rain barrel theory. Raindrops fill barrels.”

Laura Burns, a project coordinator at the office of State Senator Siela Bynoe, was also on hand Wednesday, and delivered a proclamation from the elected official. While the proclamation recognized the charitable endeavors carried out by the family business, Burns had her own recognition to offer.

“On a personal note, I’m a Rockville Centre mom, my kids have had multiple birthday parties here,” she said.

Addressing the crowd Wednesday, LaSpina said Maple Family Centers’ donation total was at $911,000 on Aug. 31. Between Aug. 31 and Feb. 4, the community around the bowling alley had raised $105,000. Speaking before the crowd, however, Joe LaSpina said it wasn’t really about a number.

“We’ve gotten a lot of people involved at whatever level they feel comfortable,” LaSpina said.

Among the people involved was Coram resident Jeff Sinkowitz, who volunteered to sing the national anthem Wednesday. Within the first few words of the song, the room full of bowlers joined him, turning a solo performance into a chorus that carried through the rest of the song. As Sinkowitz stepped back to his seat to watch the rest of the proceedings, Joe LaSpina noticed something: He had sung in his bowling shoes.