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FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 4, 2026
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Wantagh F.D. blood drive set for Monday
RICHNER
Donated red blood cells have a shelf life of up to 42 days, according to the Red Cross, and Residents are being encour- this contributes to the constant aged to roll up their sleeves and demand for blood donations. “The start of the year is one donate blood during Wantagh Fire Department’s community of the most challenging times to collect blood,” Dr. Lawrence blood drive on March 2. The drive will be held from Fialkow, divisional medical offi1:45 to 7:45 p.m. at the fire cer of the American Red Cross, department’s headquarters, at recently wrote to the New York 3470 Park Ave. Department of “ We k n ow t h e H e a l t h . “ S e ve r e tough times and the winter weather, seashortages and the sonal illnesses and need for this out post-holiday schedthere,” T homas ules can disrupt Bloomfield, a fordonations.” mer chief of the Organizations W a n t a g h F i r e THoMAs will typically hold Department, said. BlooMFiEld multiple blood “We try to stay on Ex-chief, Wantagh drives within a year top of it and make to capitalize on a Fire Department sure we do it at least fast tur naround twice a year.” time for repeat With New York constantly donors. Whole blood can typiexperiencing a shortage in cally be donated every 8 weeks, blood supply, the department according to the Red Cross. typically hosts its drives in the In addition to the fire departfirst week of March and Octo- ment, also co-hosting the drive ber. will be State Sen. Steve Rhoads, “There’s only so much blood A s s e m b l y m a n Dave out there, and the blood only McDonough, Nassau County lasts so long,” Bloomfield Comptroller Elaine Phillips, explained. “There’s always a Town of Hempstead Councilneed for blood.” He estimated man Chris Schneider and Counthat the department typically ty Legislator Kayla Knight. collects around 70 pints of Ensuring a safe and reliable blood per drive.
By lUKE FEENEY
lfeeney@liherald.com
Courtesy Seaford School District
On P.S. I Love You Day, Feb. 13, Seaford Manor Elementary School students showed off their notes listing acts of kindness, joined by social worker Jennifer DiMieri, far left, and Assistant Principal Rich Schwartz.
Students in three school districts celebrate ‘P.S. I Love You Day’ By lUKE FEENEY lfeeney@liherald.com
Students headed into February vacation wrapped in purple — and with a shared message of support. Across the Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown school districts, purple shirts, handwritten notes and student-led initiatives marked P.S. I Love You Day on Feb. 13 — a growing movement to normalize conversations about mental health. P.S. I Love You Day, held on the second Friday of February, was created by West Islip student Brooke DiPalma in 2011, to honor her father, a retired New York City police officer, who took his own life when Brooke was 14. At Wantagh High School, members of Morgan’s Message, a club focused on mental well-being, set up in the lobby before the first bell rang, inviting classmates to sign a banner and talk. Morgan’s Message is a nonprofit organi-
zation founded in the memory of Duke lacrosse player Morgan Rodgers, who died by suicide in July 2019. With over 1,900 chapters in high schools across the country, the organizations goal is to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental heath. Though cliques remain part of high school life, adviser Valerie Gompers said the social barriers softened. “Just talking to them and saying, ‘Oh, how was your day today?’” Gompers said. “It was a whole vibe, and everything about how they wanted everyone to feel included and to be a part of it.” This year’s theme at Wantagh was “Be the Light.” Students wrote encouraging messages on purple hearts, created kindness chains and launched a “Pin for a Purpose” initiative, in which clothespins with uplifting notes were passed from student to student. “They didn’t want to let go of those pins,” Gompers added. Around 50 club members decorated the COntInuED On PAgE 10
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here’s always a need for blood.
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