Seaford
HERALD Citizen
Seaford gazebo to be replaced
9/11 memorial canceled
Splatter art at library
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VOL. 68 NO. 34
AUGUST 20 - 26, 2020
$1.00
Softball benefit for police set for next month By J.D. FREDA jfreda@liherald.com
Last September, Chris and Michelle Panetta took on an important task. Chris, 42, a New York City Police detective, and Michelle, 34, a Nassau County probation of ficer, sought to put an end to police suicide, and to begin breaking down the stigma among law enforcement of ficials of acknowledging mental health struggles. Inspired by the raw emotion of losing NYPD Officer Nick Mencaroni, a close friend of Chris’s, to suicide earlier last
year, the Seaford pair started the nonprofit Beyond the Badge NY. Their first event was a softball game held last September at Baldwin Harbor Park to raise awareness of their cause. They called it the Strikeout Suicide Charity Softball Game. The effort was such a success that, just a few months later, the Panettas started planning the second game at the park, scheduled for Sept. 26. September is National Suicide Awareness Month, and Sept. 26 is National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day. They secured the permit to
Courtesy Beyond the Badge NY
BEYOND THE BADGE NY is returning for its second annual Strikeout Suicide Charity Softball Game on Sept. 26 after it was given the green light by the Town of Hempstead. use the park before the coronavirus pandemic struck. “Under Phase 4 there are very strict guidelines, but the Town [of Hempstead] approved our permits, so once they approved it, we were good to go,” Michelle said. “But I have to follow every guideline set in place.” “Everyone has to [fill out] a questionnaire,” she said.
“Everyone has to get their temperature checked. People will have to wear masks. They might not be happy about it, I know, but it is what is. I have disinfectant wipes in the dugout. If they share baseball bats like last year, bats [will be] wiped down after each use. . . . As soon as you walk in, there are going to be markings for
when you walk to get food. The fo o d i s a l l i n d iv i d u a l ly wrapped.” Beyond the Badge NY had been brainstorming ways to follow up on last year’s successful debut, and this year’s Strikeout Suicide Charity Game will be twice as big. Last year there were roughly 30 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Entrepreneur connects businesses, nonprofits with ‘hope’ By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com
Entrepreneur and author Donna Cariello isn’t exactly an optimist, despite the frequent use of upbeat language and the title of her 2019 book, “Ambassadors of HOPE.” She is a practical businesswoman with nearly 40 years’ hands-on experience. But she is also a believer in the power of change, as she has seen in the past 12 years, as the founder and chief executive officer of the Long Island Way Academy. Before starting her own company, Cariello, 59, of Levittown, was a senior manager at FedEx, with broad responsibilities in
human resources and logistics. A combination of changes there and the downturn in the U.S. economy gave her the impetus she needed to go out on her own. “I saw so many people — women, especially — out of work and struggling during the recession,” Cariello said. And many nonprofits were going through the same thing. “I’d always had a passion for community outreach,” she said. “I did a lot of volunteer work in my spare time — the March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, the Family and Children’s Association. I wanted to find a way to turn that passion into a business.”
In 2003, Cariello accepted FedEx’s offer of a buyout. She joined the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women, where she met some of the women whose profiles appear in her book. After she took part in motivational speaker and trainer Andrew Morrison’s Small Business Boot Camp in 2004, an idea for a business began to form in Cariello’s mind. “Every business needs to be promoted, and every nonprofit needs great exposure and a large audience,” she wrote in her book. “Both need support through clients and donors.” In the first four months after founding Long Island Way in
2006, Cariello brought 15 nonprofits together with 36 for-profit businesses to form a network to benefit both worlds. Nonprofit fundraising — especially for smaller ones — is difficult even in the best of times, Cariello explained. And fundraising for core operations is perhaps most difficult of all. At the same time, businesses
might not have specific plans for giving. She helps each side clarify its goals, and then helps organizations find partners that fit their respective needs. After that, “I help with the campaigns, develop the marketing materials — whatever they need.” Ultimately, the organizations CONTINUED ON PAGE 5