The Andy Foundation was established in January of 2004 to honor the life of Andrew Patrick Palmeri.

On September 17, 2003, Andrew Patrick Palmeri (“Andy”) was playing tag with his friends when a passing car hit him. Andy was rushed by ambulance to the pediatric intensive care unit of the hospital. His family was by his side 24 hours a day and the entire community rallied to support them. Unfortunately, Andy died five days later. He was 11 years old.

In January of 2004 Andy’s family and friends established The Andy Foundation. The Foundation’s motto is “By kids…For Kids” and its mission is to give all children regardless of race, religion, or social and economic status a chance for a healthy, safe and happy childhood, which will give them a better chance to become successful and productive adults.

Andy’s friends are involved in every aspect of the Foundation. His best buddies designed the website logo and are currently sending letters to celebrities asking them to donate a recipe for a cookbook to be sold later this year. As funds are raised, these same friends will have input on how and where to spend the money to achieve the Foundation’s mission.

In the days and months following Andy’s death, many people wrote the family notes about how important Andy was to them. We hope that by sharing some of these notes you will get a better idea of why everyone who met Andy found him to be a remarkable kid.

“Andy wasn’t the biggest kid on the team, but he had the biggest heart”
“He was the glue that held the boys together”
“He always had the best Halloween costume, his imagination was endless”
“Andy loved his Converse sneakers”
“Life will be so boring without Andy”
“He loved sports and played football, baseball, lacrosse and hockey; he was a warrior on the playing field”
“I’ll always remember the acorn fights we had with his brother Philip and how he loved to play and wrestle with his dog”
“He had a gift for delivering classic one-liners and he could recreate any accent”
“His smile…it lit up the world”

These are just some of the comments made by his friends and coaches. All who knew Andy agree that even at age 11, he had perspective on life and he didn’t just live it, he embraced it! It is in that spirit that Andy’s friends and family invite you to support their mission to help achieve lasting improvements in the lives of children -- for our children are our hope and our future.

 The Andy Fund NEWS UPDATE

This years Yard sale was ahuge sucess! Thank you to all who joined us!

The Andy Foundation has teamed up with the De LaSalle School in Freeport (www.delasalleschool.org) to help the all-boy’s school refurbish and create a new library for their students. The De La Salle School is a Catholic scholarship school that provides a quality education for fifth through eighth grade young men from economically disadvantaged situations. With an emphasis on respect, responsibility, leadership, and service, The De LaSalle School nurtures each student’s spiritual, academic, social, and physical growth in collaboration with his parent(s) or guardian(s), thereby preparing the young men to be caring citizens of the world. Members of the Andy Foundation recently spent a Saturday painting the school’s library in preparation for the brand new bookshelves and furnishings that are to be delivered this spring. The painting volunteers included Sean Gaffney, James Moore, Alex Castronovo, Eleni Andromidas, Andrew D’Antonio and Frank and Caileigh McGoldrick. To see pictures of this event please see our photo gallery! In addition to tackling the paint job, members of the Andy Foundation are sponsoring a book drive to help stock the school’s new library with books that are appropriate for students in grades 5 – 8. If you would like to donate any of the books that are on the school’s wish list, please view the list here. Or e-mail junior board member Alex Castronovo at: gclaxgoalie85@optonline.com for more information. Donations can be dropped off at his house at 139 Nassau Blvd., Garden City, NY. The Andy Foundation volunteers are also hoping to collect some much-needed gym equipment for the school including: 2 basketball hoops, 1 volleyball set, 12 lacrosse sticks (boys), floor hockey set, 3-5 outdoor soccer balls (foam) 10 pineys, 12 baseball gloves, 2 portable soccer goals  and 12 12” cones. If you would like to recycle your extra equipment that is still in good shape, please contact Alex Castronovo at the above e-mail address.

The Andy Club of the Garden City High School recently held a Halloween Party in order to raise money for Backpack Buddies. Check the photo gallery for pictures!

2009 Yard Sale Pictures are now up! The sale was a huge success and we can't wait to see you all again next year!  Check our photo gallery!

The Andy Foundation's 2009 Bingo Extravaganza on March 18 was a success! Want to see how much fun we had? Check Out the Pictures! With the proceeds, we will be buying $1000 worth of diapers for the Lady of Loretta Shelter. A special thanks to Garden City Pizza for donating the delicious lunch that everyone at the event enjoyed! Diapers are expensive and the current economic situation is making the demand for diapers in shelters across Long Island even more crucial. If you want to donate diapers or other toiletries to the local shelters, they would be greatly appreciated. If you have questions please contact us!

The Andy Club of the GC High School has designed and is selling a GCHS magnet.  If interested, the magnets are $5 each and can be purchased by contacting the Andy Foundation at JPS115@AOL.COM.  All proceeds will go towards helping children in need.

 

Feel free to contact us at:

 The Andy Foundation
P.O. Box 7512
Garden City, NY 11530-0790

info@theandyfund.com
webmaster@theandyfund.com