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Just days after the double-fatal Thursday, Sept. 21 Farmingdale High School band bus crash, co-founders Alyssa Guidice, Anthony Laurino, and Jim Serpico put their heads together to devise a way to fuse a fundraiser with something every Long Islander loves: a good pizza pie.
Though the effects of the crash were felt throughout the Farmingdale community, it hit Laurino especially hard – his son was in the school’s second bus and watched as the first tumbled down a 50-foot ravine on I-84 near Wawayanda in Orange County.
Earlier Report - Double-Fatal I-84 Crash: Update Released On 5 Students' Conditions, Bus Driver ID'd
“He’s gonna take a long road to recover from what he witnessed. He saw some bad stuff,” he told reporters with NBC New York
Together with Guidice, who runs the popular food page Dine-LI, and breadmaker Serpico, the trio gathered 140 pizza joints across Nassau and Suffolk counties to participate in a day-long event to raise money for the victims.
The big day, which was scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 25, saw these pizzerias donating five dollars from every pie sold, with one hundred percent of the proceeds being distributed across every victim of the crash – including the families of those critically and non-critically injured, the families of victims Gina Pelletierre and Beatrice Ferrari, and the Farmingdale High School marching band.
In addition to the pizza profits, Long Island Pizza Strong created a Venmo account to collect extra dough from the community.
The cause attracted so much attention that Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino officially declared the date “Long Island Pizza Strong Day.” Special pizza boxes displayed the organization’s logo and were used the day of.
Between individual donations, company sponsors, and the day itself, the organization raised a total of $102,200 to be distributed.
According to Long Island Pizza Strong, 15,437 pizzas were sold at participating restaurants on Oct. 25 alone – an average of about 110 pizzas a restaurant.
Some restaurants even continued their fundraising into the next two days.
“We couldn’t have done this without the support of the pizzerias, the sponsors, and most importantly... THE COMMUNITY!!!” the organization posted on Wednesday, November 15, one day after the total profits had been counted.
“Thank you to all whose who made October 25, 2023 a huge success for the most deserving families.”
Related Coverage:
Parent Of Farmingdale Student Injured In Deadly Bus Crash Sues Charter Company, Report Says
Support Swells For Son Of Farmingdale Teacher Killed In Bus Crash: 'Carry On Gina's Legacy'
'Where Words Fail, Music Speaks': Community Shows Support For Victims Of Farmingdale Bus Crash
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