Annual Events
MOTHER’S DAY FLOWERS
Every Mother’s Day since May 2013, WISH has been honored to surprise local mothers who have sick children, children deployed in the military or who face hardships themselves with a Mother’s Day gift of flowers. Volunteers deliver this token of love to the moms on the Friday of Mother’s Day weekend.
WISHING
WISHing began in February 2017, it was a collaboration of ideas from members that created this event. WISHing is open to all our members who want to nominate a person who deserves recognition for the selfless acts they do for their community. We purchase a small gift or gift card and drop off to the nominees with a note saying, thanks for all they do and that we think they’re amazing. Volunteers drive around with their children delivering the WISH's. Having the children deliver the gifts makes WISHing so special. We like to support all businesses that support us, therefore all gifts and gift cards are bought from our sponsors. WISHing takes place each year during February or March. This past March we delivered over 40 WISH's.
TREATS WITH SANTA
Treats is an event that started in December 2007 in the small hall at St. Francis De Sales Parish. It has since grown so big that we now host it at the Belle Harbor Yacht Club every December. This is a free event open to anyone who’d like to attend. We provide treats, activities, crafts, face painting, music and an opportunity for your child to visit with Santa and take a picture with him. The first hour of this event is reserved for children with sensory issues.
THE SANTA PARADE 2020
While the pandemic precluded us from hosting Treats With Santa this past Christmas, we brainstormed and came up with the idea of a Santa Car Parade. On a beautiful December evening we lined up our decorated vehicles behind the 116th FDNY fire truck and a pickup truck with a Christmas tree strapped to its roof carrying Buddy the elf and his helpers. Families lined the streets from Neponsit to Far Rockaway as Buddy, the Grinch, reindeers, elves, Santa and Mrs. Claus rode through the town spreading Christmas cheer.
CATCH A CURE RUN/WALK
Since 2017 Catch a Cure has helped our neighbors in our local communities as they deal with cancer related issues. This event was created by Robin Hoffman & Megan Rochelle after they attended a funeral for a friend. Every September we host a 5K run/walk to raise funds for this cause. At this event we honor 3 survivors and memorialize 3 others. Since its beginning, Catch a Cure has raised over $60,000.
ANNUAL SPRING FUNDRAISER
This event started in May 2008 as a cash draw down, then in 2015 it became known as Red WISH & Blue and this past June we rebranded again to the Summer Soiree Fundraiser. No matter the name, this event is always a fun evening of dancing, prizes & delicious refreshments. Your $100 ticket includes the party and a chance to win $5,000. All funds raised at this event go into our account to help our neighbors in need.
LADIES WHO BRUNCH
In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit the Rockaway Peninsula, Broad Channel and Breezy Point. The dedication and passion that so many women brought to our organization while also dealing with their own woes, was astonishing. The board of directors of Rockaway WISH decided that we would honor three women at a brunch: one from the Rockaways, Broad Channel and Breezy Point/Roxbury. We had a sold out event that was a huge success and have since kept it going. The afternoon consists of a luncheon including food, drinks and dessert plus many amazing raffles and great music. Speeches and awards are given to the honorees. This event takes place in the Fall. Each year this event is generously donated to from our local businesses and raises a large amount of money that enables us to continue our work in the community.
Past honorees include:
2013 ~ Meghan Flanagan, Marybeth Bevaqua & Stephanie Wagner
2014 ~ Susan Brady, Teresa Flanigan, Jessica Allen & Sabrina Gross
2015 ~ Patti Gillespie, Maura Buckley & Heidi Monahan
2016 ~ Kathy Clarke, Kathleen Biesel & Helen Hanning
2017 ~ Kathy Roberts, Margot McGinn & Ellen Cuomo
2018 ~ This year we decided to make this event biannual.
2019 ~ Diane Erhard, Terry Purpura Johnson & Michelle Green
2021 ~ Unfortunately, due to Covid our Brunch was cancelled.
2023 ~ Joan Crowley, Marianne Doyle, Cindy Mangan
WISH COMMUNITY SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP
In 2015, we started an annual scholarship award for an 8th grader whose mother was a member of WISH. Each year, we send out an email to all our members asking for applicants. This is a onetime award of $1,000 and is awarded at our annual Spring fundraiser. Applicants are asked to write an essay on what community service means to them, including examples of their good works and a letter of recommendation. Since 2015, we have given out $9,000.
Previous winners:
2015 ~ Connor Bradwisch
2016 ~ Annie Burns
2017 ~ Nicole Moran
2018 ~ Lenny Mannino
2019 ~ Robert Shaw & Jack Deboer
2020 ~ Camille Kelly
2021 ~ Noelle McElhinney & Scarlette Markle
2022 ~ Summer Duffy and Craig Palisi
2023 ~ Fiona Brady, Kayla Grosseto and Gerard Turchi