Angela’s House is a nonprofit charity organization and a pioneer in providing assistance for terminally ill and disabled children on Long Island. Angela Policastro, the inspiration behind the charity, had suffered severe brain damage during birth, leaving her medically frail. In order to receive the services she needed to survive, she had to receive care in Connecticut, two hours away from home. Due to her frail state, Angela did not live to see her second birthday. Her father, Bob Policastro, founded Angela’s House in 1992 to fill the voids in the system that left less fortunate children on Long Island helpless. Mr. Policastro has worked not only to provide necessary services for these children – there are now three Angela’s House homes on Long Island – but also to raise awareness of the obstacles that the children face. One of his latest efforts to reach out to the community was through Angela’s House’s 2nd Annual 3K Walk in Holtsville. This event is where Joe Finn and I learned that we, like Mr. Policastro, could make a difference.

We just went to the event to earn community service credits for Corporate Raiders; we never thought we’d leave with a chance to change lives. While serving water bottles to the 3K participants, Joe and I had a chance to speak with Angela’s House volunteers. Johanna Rotta, the director of development, coordinated the event and assigned Joe and I to our non-alcoholic refreshment bar duties. Bob Policastro, the founder, spoke with us about his personal mission inspired by his own daughter’s misfortunes. Gennaro “Gerry” Desena, a lead volunteer, said something that really stuck with Joe and me — he mentioned that his goal was to empower more of the youth community to spread the Angela’s House message. He asked Joe and I how we could help, adding the possibility of spreading the message to Patchogue-Medford High School. Taking into account the size of our student body, Joe and I realized we had a unique opportunity to make a difference. That night began the planning stages for a school wide fundraiser for Angela’s House.

Eventually, with a helpful suggestion from our PE teacher, Ms. Gangl, we began full-fledged development of Patchogue-Medford High School’s first ever bottle flipping tournament in conjunction with the National Honor Society. What is bottle flipping? You know, that ridiculous trend kicked off by some talent show genius as he approached the stage, flipped a third-filled water bottle 360 degrees, and exited as his peers erupted. Did Joe and I think we could top that level of excitement? No way. But what we did understand was that all of our peers were partaking in this fad and we still had to answer Gerry’s question: “How can you help?”

On Thursday, November 10th in the West Gym, our vision became a reality and Patchogue-Medford High School hosted the first ever bottle-flipping tournament to assist Angela’s House. We witnessed some intense competition; one student even donned a shirt and tie to take on a manager’s role to some of the flippers. There were five competitions including head-to-head, height, target, style, and obstacle course challenges with prizes for each winner. The tournament turned out to be a huge success with all donations amounting to $400, 100% of which will be donated directly to Angela’s House. Although the final number was important, the volunteers from Angela’s House were mostly appreciative for the spreading of the Angela’s House message. Joe and I are especially grateful to have had the opportunity to establish a connection between Patchogue-Medford and Angela’s House. We look forward to working with the charity organization in the future and hope that its message will continue to reach the Patchogue-Medford community long after the two of us graduate in June.

Joe and I would like to extend our deepest gratitude towards Johanna, Mr. Policastro, and Gennaro Desena for granting us the opportunity to make a difference. We’d like to thank Ms. Sweda and Ms. Gangl for their support in organizing the fundraiser. We’d like to recognize Rocco’s Pizzeria, Metropolis Diner, YoGoMania, County Wide Ice Cream, and Carvel for donating gift certificate prizes for our winners. We’d especially like to thank the student volunteers from the National Honor Society and those who participated in the event. Together, we made a difference!