FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 • TIMES 19 buzz QUEENS Former NYC councilman walks to raise funds and awareness for Down syndrome BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport A former councilman who represented Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and the surrounding areas is now walking for a much different cause. Anthony Como — who won the City Council seat for the 30th District in a 2008 special election — will be participating in his second National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) New York City Buddy Walk on Saturday, Sept. 17. Como began researching the NDSS in 2014 when he and his wife found out that his yet-tobe born son Joseph was diagnosed with Down syndrome while in the womb. “We got involved with NDSS during the course of my wife’s pregnancy,” Como said. “At the time the doctors were suggesting terminating the pregnancy and that really got me mad. Nothing would make us more happy than to have this baby. That’s the best thing we every decided to do.” Two years later and Joseph is a happy, healthy toddler who is beginning to walk and is the pride of his family. Como and his team of walkers, the J Walkers — a play on words about Como’s time as an assistant district attorney, and the walking they do for Joseph — are gearing up for the Buddy Walk to help raise awareness and money for Down syndrome. Como has made it a goal to make sure that his son, and every other person with Down syndrome, is treated just like everyone else. “It’s one of the reasons we got involved from the very beginning,” he said. “We want to let people to know that being different isn’t a bad thing.” So far, Como has raised $5,620, while the J Walkers raised a total of $7,595 for the NDDS, and is currently ranked as the top team. He hopes to surpass his team’s 2015 total of nearly $14,000 and bring even more awareness to this subject. The New York City Buddy Walk kicks off at The Great Hill in Central Park and participants walk approximately one mile through the park. After the walk, family and friends are invited to a big festival in the park with games, refreshments, live entertainment and more for everyone to enjoy. “It’s a great way to get the word out, you get to get people involved. It’s a great day, they have games and a DJ for the kids,” Como said of the Buddy Walk. “People make a party out of it. I enjoy to getting involved with the walk itself because it’s a way for everyone to see you’re not the only one out there, you’re not the only family going through this. When you see everyone walking for the same cause it has a profound effect.” Como is very grateful for the support he has received from the community he has found with the NDSS and the Buddy Walk. They have helped him and his family with many questions they have had. Como and his family hope to pass along that support and knowledge to others this year and in future years. Como had served in the City Council through December 2008; he had lost the seat to current Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley in the November general election of that year. To support Como and make a tax-deductible donation, search for “Anthony Como” on donordrive. com. Photo courtesy of Anthony Como Anthony Como, with his son Joseph, who he will be walking for at this year’s New York City Buddy Walk to raise money and awareness for Down syndrome. Ridgewood-based group launches online fundraiser to help victims of Italy earthquake BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz As rescuers are working furiously to fi nd survivors following the massive earthquake in Italy earlier last week, an Italian cultural organization based in Ridgewood is raising funds toward the rebuilding process. The Associazione Culturale Italiana di New York and Italian daily newspaper America Oggi have launched a GoFundMe page seeking cash donations for the earthquake victims. As of press time, more than $22,000 had been raised toward the drive’s $100,000 goal. More than 250 people have died in the earthquake that struck early in the morning (local time) on Aug. 24 in the town of Amatrice, about 60 miles northeast of Rome. The tremor, which registered 6.2 on the Richter scale, occurred while most people were sleeping and leveled most Photo: Antonio Nardelli/Shutterstock.com In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Italy on Aug. 24, a Ridgewood group is raising funds for the rebuilding process. buildings in Amatrice and nearby villages. The quake struck a few miles to the north of the city of Aquila, which was similarly devastated in a 2009 earthquake. Following the earthquake, the Associazione raised funds and teamed up with the Agnelli Family Foundation to build a new elementary school. “Although it is to early for us to have identifi ed a project, the need will be there as the damage is catastrophic,” Tony DiPiazza, chairman of the Associazione Culturale Italiana di New York, wrote of the Amatrice earthquake in a message on the GoFundMe page. “We will be once again partnering with the Agnelli Foundation as before, who will identify a project, which most likely will be a local school or home for the elderly.” In the past, the Associazione has held fundraisers in the aftermath of a number of other natural and man-made disasters, such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Following the Aug. 24 quake, DiPiazza and Associazione President Tony Mule quickly worked to establish an earthquake fund as well as the GoFundMe account to receive monetary donations. In the wake of previous disasters, fi nancial donations have been the most effective way to bring relief to those who need it the most. The school rebuilt in Aquila following the 2009 quake was completed in just four months, DiPiazza told the Ridgewood Times, noting that the structure was one of the fi rst major buildings reconstructed in the area. “Everybody’s displaced” now in Amatrice, “and we want to get their lives back to normal as best as possible,” DiPiazza added. He anticipates the fundraising effort will be going on for many months as Italy works to rebuild. Visit gofundme.com/29cgqsz8 to make a contribution to the Italy earthquake fundraiser. Those who can’t donate on the GoFundMe page may mail a check payable to the Associazione Culturale Italiana di New York Earthquake Fund, c/o Astoria Bank, 75-25 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village, NY 11379.
RT09012016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above