Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation raises over $450K for charities, scholarships
Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2013 by Adventureland, raised more than $450,000 to support its ongoing programs during its VIP Night held on their grounds in Farmingdale last month.
The event included the presentation of a $50,000 donation to Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism and the presentation of 13 scholarships to high school seniors, including Adventureland team members.
The annual VIP Night raises funds to support the foundation and its many community-based charitable activities while providing families with rides, food and entertainment.
This year’s recipients of Vivian and Tony Gentile Scholarships, for students attending college on Long Island, were Mikayla Blanc, Brendan Dunne, Kerri Fliller, Anthony Gomez and Isabella Neri.
The recipients of Adventureland Team Member Scholarships, for students attending college within New York State, were Ella Bloom, Hailey Busch, Maggie Greene, Tamzidul Haque and Sally Rosenthal.
Christian Paredes received a scholarship made possible through Sachem Dental Group’s $50,000 endowment to Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation, awarded in 2017.
Heemali Patel was awarded a scholarship thanks to funding from Island Harvest and Vito Barretta received a scholarship in partnership with Breakthrough T1D.
“We believe it is important to give back to the community in many ways through Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation,” said Steve Gentile, president and owner of Adventureland. “Since we began the organization 11 years ago, we have provided over $1 million in charitable donations and scholarships and this year’s VIP Night was our most successful event to date, made possible by the generosity of our Long Island neighbors.”
Throughout the year, Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation makes donations to Island Harvest, Town of Babylon Food Pantry, the Town of Babylon’s Christmas Angels Program, the Town of Oyster Bay’s Toys for Tots Drive and conducts a Clear the List school supply program supporting Long Island teachers.
