DECEMBER 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 15
GIVING A ‘WIN-WIN-WIN’
organizations and specifically ones
that are in the city and are minority
centric. I find that gratifying because
a lot of these kids are terrific athletes
and, historically, they’ve played
basketball and baseball and football.
But lacrosse is a sport that’s not as
competitive as those major sports, so
it gives the kids a greater opportunity
to excel.
What was it that first inspired
you to get involved with philanthropic
initiatives? The funeral
industry was the original platform
upon which I built The Whitmore
Group 30 years ago. And the funeral
industry, I think, taught me a lot
about giving back to the community.
Funeral directors are often pillars
of the community and many funeral
homes are doing business exclusively
in their own backyard, so to speak.
They’re going to do business in their
neighborhood and I think that they
are really focused on being solid
citizens in the community and giving
back and involving themselves
in a variety of ways. And I think I
learned a lot from that. By giving
back, they bolstered relationships
with their clients’ families and they
made their businesses stronger
through philanthropy. And then I
became a board trustee of the Funeral
Service Foundation, which is a
national organization that promotes
everything that’s good about funeral
service. And I donated money to that
organization — to their endowment
— and I served on the board and I
traveled throughout the country to
meet with funeral service professionals….
I think I was initially inspired
by that community-centric existence.
And from there I became involved
with sports and philanthropy when
I reconnected with my alma mater,
Hofstra University, and Half Hollow
Hills High School…. I’ve also become
involved with St. Anthony’s. They
approached me based on what they
perceived as my giveback to the
sports community on Long Island….
Initially I thought because I wasn’t
an alum of St. Anthony’s, I was going
to pass. But they convinced me that it
would be a good investment on many
levels and I agree…. Whether it was
a terrific branding opportunity for
me or I get to go watch the young
men and women play sports, that
makes it kind of a proud, gratifying
experience to watch them play, given
the involvement that I have and the
success that they have. And I do think
that it strengthens my brand. So, it’s
another example of a win-win-win
situation.
About how much in donations do
you and The Whitmore Group make
each year? We give a percentage of
our profits to charity every year. I
don’t disclose the exact amount. But
it’s a significant percentage of our
profits…. It always feels good to give
back to schools — whether it’s high
schools or colleges or Big Brothers
Big Sisters or the Boys & Girls Club or
Jamaica YMCA. I believe the money
goes to the right place and to the right
people.
How did you became involved
with the American Heart Association?
Marc Hamroff is a very
successful attorney based in Garden
City and Manhattan, and they have
a golf outing named after his father,
the Long Island Golf Classic: A Joel
Hamroff Memorial Tribute. And
Marc asked me to be the honoree one
year…. He thought that I could help
them raise money…. We raised over
$300,000 the year I was honoree and
I was very impressed with the way
Marc … ran this golf outing and the
amount of money that they raised
and, of course, the cause. The Heart
Association is, I think, another great
charity foundation that does a lot
and I think the money goes in the
right place, to the right people. I’ve
been involved and I’ve been a major
sponsor for this chapter and for Marc
since I was the honoree probably five
years ago.
You have also made charitable
contributions to the Half Hollow
Hills East High School boys lacrosse
team. How long have you
been involved with that team and
what made you get involved with
it? I’ve been involved with that probably
almost 10 years. I was a lacrosse
player at Half Hollow Hills…. I had
some success there…. I have very
fond memories. We had very competitive
teams when I was there…. My
experience as a football and lacrosse
player there did a lot for me and really
helped form that foundation for
my future.
What would you say is the philanthropic
effort of yours that you
are most proud of and why? It’s hard
to answer that question. They are all
special in their own way. And that’s
the truth.
What advice would you give to
people or organizations reading
this who may not be involved with
philanthropic initiatives and may
be open to it? When you give, you
get back a lot … on a lot of levels.
Emotionally and, I think, mentally,
it helps in more ways than one would
imagine. Start locally. Look around
you. There’s no better place to start
than your neighborhood. And then
take it from there. Like the people
that inspired me first in the funeral
industry…. I think it’s great to start
locally and then go from there. Make
your backyard a better place for
everyone.
Metzger believes that the best place to start being benevolent is
locally.
"Make your backyard a better place
for everyone."