The ailments, conditions, disabilities of children of Angela’s House can’t be described using one term. The children often have multiple illnesses or challenges, and often have other related complications. This summer we logged many of the different diagnoses of the children we assist and we narrowed it down to 200. These disabilities, accidents or common/rare diseases have so many variations within them and unique characteristics and difficulties.
We are so appreciative of the beyond generous donation from Vehicle Tracking Solutions. We had a wonderful time sharing our story with Karen Cunningham and showing her and Tony Luisi around Angela’s House III. We are very excited as the funds will be put towards updating our second home, located in Smithtown. We will be able to add some features that are very necessary and will help ensure that our children receive the best care possible.
The Angela’s House Fishing fundraiser was a sea full of people with 4 boats of people supporting children that are medically fragile
People of all ages took over the boardwalk at Captree Park in Babylon. We had a beautiful evening, the sun was shining and the fish were ready to bite. The 9th Annual Angela’s House fishing trip was as usual, beautiful. Many thanks for the support and assistance from the boat Fishtail and her Captain Chris for all their help in planning this event.
Families, children, and friends of Angela’s House people of all ages took over the boardwalk at Captree Park in Babylon, NY as they waited patiently to step aboard their boats. The warmth of the sun could compare to the warm, appreciative smile and energy of the eager fishermen and women.
Our fishing trip that began a few years ago with only one boat has now become one of the most popular sold out events with four boats with over 300 people attending. This would not be possible without your support. Many thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Policastro who sponsored the fishing trip fundraiser. Many thanks to the food and drink that were donated by Applebee’s, Holiday Inn Westbury and Pepsi Corporation. Supporters from all walks of life, young and old, came together, all of whom showed their support not only by fishing for a cause but by wearing it literally on their sleeves. All 350 people in attendance wore the Angela’s House t-shirts throughout the evening. As the boats sailed into the sunset everyone laughed, ate, and fished together, and soon strangers became friends, united by their love for Angela’s House.
We were very excited to be able to have our Summer Fun Party at White Post Farms. The party included free admission and food at the beautiful White Post Farms, voted Best Petting Zoo on Long Island by the Long Island Press and ranked among the best places on Long Island to take your kids for family fun.
Angela’s House offers programs and supports and will coordinate services to families who need care for their medically frail children at home. For children who cannot be cared for at home, Angela’s House I, II and III are specially designed homes that provide a warm environment with 24-hour nursing care to accommodate the children’s complex medical and physical needs.
This past December our beautiful son Jake lost his battle with a rare genetic disorder called Infantile Neuro Axonal Dystrophy. Jake was born “normal” but began showing signs of this disorder just over a year old. We were able to care for Jake at home with the help of Angela’s House and the Care At Home Program utill he was 15 years old. At this time his disorder had progressed and he needed 24 hour nursing care. It was a very difficult decision to move Jake out of our home where he had always lived with us and his younger siblings, Julia and Ricky. We agreed we would never place him anywhere but one of Angela’s Houses. When we got the call that there was an opening at the new Angela’s House III we knew it was the right time for Jake and our family. Angela’s House allowed us to visit Jake and spend quality time with him instead of taking care of his constant medical needs. The nurses, staff, children and their families became our second family. Our children loved visiting with Jake at the house and seeing everyone there, they still ask to visit.
This past April we were able to give back to Angela’s House by hosting a Comedy Night fundraiser at the Paramount. We will always be grateful to Bob Policastro and Angela’s House for everything they have done for our son Jake and our family.
God Bless,
Suzanne and Rick Spadalik
THANK YOU! When you look through this Newsletter you will understand why I feel compelled to express my gratitude to you. We could not fulfill our mission of assisting medically frail children without your support. I often tell people that at times when I first started advocating, how it often felt like very few people understood the world surrounding chronically ill children. Because of this, the awareness and support we received now is nothing short of a miracle.
There is a sensitive topic that most people would shy away from, but I need to mention it because of the several heroic acts we were recently parts of. The front cover has a story about one of our children that recently passed, and his family. His loss brought great pain to his family, but they unselfishly decided to hold a fundraiser to help other families. At our holiday party I had the pleasure to have a conversation with Lauren, whose doctors had explained that she had limited time left. She always strived to live her life by this motto; Happy, Positive & Healthy. She displayed this even in her small acts, such as when she handed me one of her bracelets and started to tell me a few jokes. At our Gala we had Emma Nelson’s family make a donation in her honor. One of my favorite photos I have is Emma on the pony with the dad holding her ventilator, her nurse on the other side of the pony and the matron guiding the horse down the path. In today’s world people often wonder where heroes are. I can tell you that I am blessed to see them all the time. We are very fortunate to have our holiday party sponsor Arthur Krantz from We Care for Kids, along with many volunteers and support from Local 25 in Hauppauge. This two day party continues to be an amazing event for the children and families we assist.
Save the Date: Angel of Hope Candlelight VigilDecember 5th, 2015 – 4:00 PM at Eisenhower Park
For all families that have lost a child.
Over 200 people attended our gala at the beautiful and newly renovated Watermill Caterers of Smithtown. The event always has a warm feel to it. We were happy to honor Ron and Robert Brigati for their amazing support hosting our Angela’s House Summer party for the children and families. Bill Powers from My Country 96.1 FM and Kimberly reenacted discussion they had on air when the station did a Marathon event for us. Thank you to the sponsors of the event Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Policastro, Vehicle Tracking Solutions, In Memory of Emma Nelson and Local 25 the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Angela’s House uses public programs, grants and donations to assist families caring for their children with special health care needs that are medically fragile, chronically ill or living with a life threatening illness. Your donations and assistance with fundraising allows us to ease the financial burdens our families experience with the day-to-day care of these children. These funds are very important especially for children who need help right away but often must wait months to get assistance through public programs. These funds are used to purchase medical supplies, medical care, therapeutic equipment, and other items not covered by insurance. Below are a few of the families and children we assist in our programs.
Donations in Memory Of:
Andrew Baierlein
Dominic Capone
Zachary Cashin
Joseph Catalano
Lauren Cummins
Antonella DiGiovanni
Evan Dragan
Mary English
Bonnie Farrell
Kelly Anne Ficken
Graham Gurcan
Kyle Herring
Kaitlyn Hesselbirg
Alecandra Michele Leader
Brandon LeMaire
Philomena Lampone
Emma Nelson
Robert Oakley
Phil O’Neil
Arthur Peterson
Abigail Peyman
Paulie Poloskey
Angela Policastro
Evelyn Schneider
Jake Spadalik
Donations in Honor Of:
The Altbacker Family
Caroline Caggiano
Christoper Cannone
Gina DiMartino
Grace Feeney
Oliver Miller
Vistor Ortiz
Pedrom Palazzo
Anthony Russo
Carloline Serva
Isabella Viola
Jake Zane
Planned Gifts:
For inforamation on making a Planned Gift, please contact Angela’s House so that we may assist you.
Gift oppotunities include: Bequests, Life Insurance, Real Estate, Stock, Trusts and Wills.
JVC Broadcasting, My Country FM 96.1, held an all day fundraiser and raffle for Angela’s House. DJs Phathead and Bill Powers with some of the children that visited the studio during the event that helped to raise money and awareness for medically frail children.
Signage Sponsorship donations available for the 2015 Racing Season
For more information, sponsorships or to register online, visit www.angelashouse.org or call 631-979-2620
We are excited to add this walking event.
The We will be setting up a fun filled day.
The day will include
– our walk
– visit to the animals Preserve
– Lunched supplied by Applebee’s
– music and more
Start thinking about doing the walk with us. Starting thinking about a team.
Create a team to honor a child.
If you would like to volunteer, please email
info@angelashouse.org
Honoree
The Angela’s House Golf Outing from June 8, 2015
We had a beautiful day for our golf outing. Our event was at Indian Hills Country Club in Northport which is a hidden gem on the water. Our honoree was Thomas LaCascia , North Shore – LIJ CareConnect Insurance Company, Inc. Thomas has been a great support to Angela’s House in our mission to assist families care for children that are medically frail.
The Golf was great, the food was delicious, the raffles were the best we ever had and our presentation helped us to bring a greater understand of the lives of the medically frail children and their families
