Urban Air Lake Grove To Host Fundraiser For Stony Brook Cancer Center

LAKE GROVE, NY — Urban Air Lake Grove will host its third annual Stony Brook Cancer Center fundraiser in honor of late co-founder Dave Wolmetz, with proceeds supporting blood cancer research at Stony Brook Cancer Center.

The fundraiser is scheduled for June 7, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Urban Air Lake Grove, 3147 Middle Country Road.

Last year’s event raised more than $10,000 to support research and treatment at Stony Brook Cancer Center, organizers said.

The event will offer a day of family-friendly activities for kids of all ages, including access to Urban Air Lake Grove attractions such as the 30-foot-tall Sky Rider zipline, Mini Go-Karts, climbing walls, bumper cars and more. Local vendors are also expected to offer face painting, balloon animals, temporary tattoos and hourly raffles, with prizes ranging from televisions to luxury vacations, organizers said.

Proceeds will support blood cancer research at Stony Brook Cancer Center, where Wolmetz received treatment from 2019 to 2023.

“We grew up together, we went into this business together,” Keith Handler, co-founder of Urban Air Lake Grove, said. “Dave loved to see kids happy and off their screens. This fundraiser is in honor of him to support the people who took care of him when he was sick.”

Wolmetz was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October 2018. He was admitted to Stony Brook Hospital’s 19th floor, where his treatment began immediately. The Cancer Center and hospital staff treated him throughout his cancer journey, which continued through the COVID-19 pandemic and several hospitalizations caused by his compromised immune system, organizers said.

Wolmetz died June 9, 2023.

“Stony Brook Cancer Center was a very special place for him, and he loved the medical professionals who took such good care of him,” Carrie Wolmetz, Dave Wolmetz’s wife, said. “He always had hope; he always stayed positive. And he was always ready to try whatever new treatments were available, for himself and for other people.”

Donations to Stony Brook Cancer Center can be made online.