Whitestone raises funds to fi ght substance abuse
Community campaign honors memory of late activist who helped others make recoveries
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A beloved Whitestone
resident will be honored and
remembered on Saturday at
a special fundraising event
in support of continuing
his mission to help others
overcome substance abuse.
The Daniel Copersino
Foundation will be hosting
a fundraising event on April
13 at the Spartan Obstacle
Race in CitiField at 9 a.m.
followed by a picnic at Harvey
Park, located at 20th Avenue
and Whitestone Expressway,
from 1 to 4 p.m. in honor of
Copersino, who celebrated
his third anniversary of
sobriety before he passed
away in December 2018 at the
age of 27 from an undetected
heart condition.
Established in January
2019, The Daniel Copersino
Foundation is a nonprofit
organization raising funds in
support of substance abuse
and addiction based charities
providing grants to those in
need of treatment.
“All that Daniel wanted to
do was help people,” said Laura
Copersino, Daniel’s mother.
“With everyone helping like
this we can magnify his efforts
and help a lot of people.”
In his late teens, Copersino
began experimenting with
drugs, which eventually led
to an addiction to heroin. For
years thereafter, he was in
and out of programs and detox
facilities seeking help.
While staying at a detox
facility in Jamaica, Copersino
relocated to an upstate facility
called St. Christopher’s Inn
in 2014 for three months.
The program was a stepping
stone for Copersino providing
support, encouragement, and
finding the inner strength
to address the disease
of addiction.
After completing his care
upstate, Copersino felt that
returning to Whitestone
was not the best move and
as a result, he relocated to a
residential facility in Delray
Beach, Florida. for three years,
where he formed relationships
Daniel Copersino at a Spartan Race event.
both inside and outside of the
treatment community.
“He came back home in
June 2017 sober and doing
very well,” said Copersino.
“While he was down there he
helped a lot of people get their
lives back on track. It was his
personal mission to see people
Photo courtesy of Laura Copersino
get into recovery from the
disease of addiction. That was
his big thing. He would speak
at meetings at facilities; he
would travel to speak to help
people. When he had passed it
was extremely unexpected.”
After his passing,
Copersino’s close friends
and family founded the
organization to continue
Daniel’s work of helping to
guide others struggling with
addiction on the path to living
a clean, sober life.
Copersino is looking
forward to continuing the event
every year in honor of Daniel,
who loved participating in
Spartan Race events.
With a dedicated passion for
sports and fitness, Copersino
began running Spartan Races
throughout the Northeast.
His aspiration to become a
personal trainer led him to
begin the enrollment process
for certification courses.
“The Spartan Race is an
obstacle course and my son
was an obstacle course racer,”
said Copersino. “We have 73
friends and family in this
race. We’re all doing it and the
racers alone will be raising
about $2,000.
Following the race, there
will be a picnic held at Harvey
Park. To make a donation,
visit The Daniel Copersino
Foundation Facebook Page.
SM
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