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Community Corner

Local Resident Organizes Toys for Tots Fundraiser

Stephanie Sheehan loves to host parties, and give back to those in need.

To help kick off the season for giving, Stephanie Sheehan invited her friends, family and fellow Sayville residents to a fundraiser for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation held at the in Sayville.

This is the third year Stephanie has hosted the fundraising event and the second time at Island Hills. There are a number of reasons she chose Island Hills. "First is the location; I prefer to bring business to local companies," she said. "Next was flexibility - Charlie the catering manager has been very accommodating, since this function is to benefit a non-profit.  The members of the club have also donated to Toys for Tots through this function. The food and venue is great for the price. Lastly is the layout - we have a lot of folks who like to dance and mingle. This is a great venue for that."

So how did she get involved with Toys for Tots? "How it all started is pretty simple," Sheehan said. "I love to throw parties and I feel very fortunate for the things I have, so I enjoy giving back. Put those two together with the fact that Christmas is my favorite holiday and you have the Toys for Tots Fundraiser."

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She added, "I had the idea of getting friends and family together for a holiday party in 2006. Since I believe we are all fortunate in our own way, I thought why not make it a charity function. I always donated to Toys for Tots, so it made sense. It is one of those feel good charities that we can all relate too. We have all had the feeling of opening a present and being so excited."

In year's past, Sheehan has had between 50 and 60 people in attendance. She has raised about $1,000 to donate to the charity and collected 150 to 200 toys each year. Sheehan exceeded her initial goal of 75 guests this year and said she received more toy donations than ever before (each guest is asked to bring a new, unwrapped gift to donate). "If I had to guess, I would say there are close to 300 toys in those donation boxes," she said.

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There was also a 50/50 raffle, with half of the proceeds donated to Toys for Tots and the other half to the fundraiser for a police officer who recently passed away. Gift baskets were also being raffled off and they included baskets filled with liquors, spa baskets, a gift certificate to Salon 600, jewelry, a Coach bag, Tastefully Simple treats and more. A Bernie Williams lithograph was the grand prize raffle drawing. 

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