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HERALD Page 3 Vol. 28 No. 21
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JFK junior reignites focus on Gio’s Law By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo jdalessandro@liherald.com
Rei Wolfsohn/Herald
Students in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District participated in the ‘Rock for Mental Health’ benefit concert, raising money to support Northwell Health’s behavioral health department. Mepham Rock Band, above, opened the show.
Playing music for a good cause Students take on mental health with charity concert By REI WolFSoHN Correspondent
Student musicians from various bands performed at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District on May 2 as part of the charity concert, Rock for Mental Health, benefiting the behavioral health department of Northwell Health, a major health care provider on Long Island. “I want this to be the anti-concert,” David Prince, the district-wide chairperson for mathematics who organized the show, said to participating students ahead of the performances. “I don’t want this to be like the Winter Concert, the Spring Concert, where everyone’s sitting quietly in the auditorium
and clapping at the end. When you guys are playing everyone’s up close to the stage, dancing, grooving, having a very good time.” And for the most part, that’s exactly what happened. Dozens of students and families gathered in the school’s gym to dance, celebrate and cheer on the musicians. In total, ten bands in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District performed, raising over $5,000. The show opened with Prince performing the “Star Spangled Banner,” followed by performances featuring the groups Mepham Rock Band; 60th Second; American Music; Cougar Rock; Calhoun Rock Band; Sunlight Yellow; Pulse; We Take Suggestions; Sanitarium; and a band comprised of Central DisCoNtiNueD oN page 4
May 11 marked the beginning of Food Allergy Awareness Week, an annual event encouraging public health advocates to support people susceptible to dangerous allergic reactions, and one local high school student is urgently spreading the word. About 1 in 10 adults in the United States have some kind of food allergy, according to the advocacy group Food Allergy Research and Education. A severe allergic reaction can lead to anaphylaxis, a lifethreatening condition that requires quick medical intervention, such as with an epinephrine injection, usually with an EpiPen. The statewide push for a law equipping law enforcement offi-
cers with EpiPens began in 2013, when 13-year-old Giovanni Cipriano died of an allergic reaction to peanuts. The measure, known as Gio’s Law, was passed in Suffolk County in 2023, but has yet to be adopted in Nassau. Jordana Wohlleben, a junior at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, spoke to community members about the dangers of allergies at the Mer rick Golf Course Club House on March 25. She has seasonal allergies as well as food allergies to apples and tree nuts — and even one bite of an allergen could put her at risk of anaphylaxis. “I wanted to pick an issue that was important to me and with my past with allergies and my anaphylaxis,” she said. “I CoNtiNueD oN page 11
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