Who: Jonathan Abrams, Manager, Gershow Recycling Keith Fasciana, Principal, William Floyd Elementary School
Dr. Paul Casciano, Superintendent of Schools, William Floyd School District
NYS Senator Lee Zeldin
Maria Marks and Zachary Sheikh, Students, William Floyd Elementary School and cancer survivors
Representatives from Holy Angels Regional School, Our Lady of Mercy School and St. Jude's Parish Outreach
Dr. Robert Parker, Director of the Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Stony Brook University Hospital
What: Gershow Recycling is helping to kick off Can Tabs for Kids, a fundraising project to help in the fight against childhood cancer. The program, which began in February at William Floyd Elementary School, has since expanded to Holy Angels Regional School in Patchogue, Our Lady of Mercy School in Riverhead, St. Jude's Parish Outreach in Mastic Beach, Half Hollow Hills School District, Patchogue-Medford Schools and William Floyd School District.
Students will collect aluminum tabs from soda and pet food cans and place them in collection bins located in their classrooms. The tabs will be brought to Gershow, where they will be weighed and recycled. Gershow will pay for the tabs and match the amount the school has raised (up to $5,000), with all funds going to benefit the Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook University Medical Center. (Example: $50 worth of tabs will equal $100 for the Sunrise Fund.)
The program began at William Floyd Elementary School on February 4 and ran until June 8. During that time, students collected over 750,000 tabs, raising $253. Gershow matched the amount the students raised and donated an additional $1,000 to the Sunrise Fund.
The program was inspired by Maria Marks, a William Floyd Elementary School student who was diagnosed with cancer at a young age. Between the ages of two weeks and six months, she underwent numerous chemotherapy sessions. The constant exposure to the radiation resulted in Maria losing her hearing in both ears and now she must wear hearing aids. Her cancer has since been in remission.
When: Friday, October 7, 2011 12:30 p.m.
Where: William Floyd Elementary School 111 Lexington Road Shirley, NY
Directions: LIE to Exit 68 (William Floyd Parkway/CR 46) toward Shirley. Go 4.7 miles. Turn left at Lawrence Road, then turn left again on Lexington Road North. School is on the right-hand side.
Photo Ops: Mr. Abrams joined by Mr. Fasciana, Dr, Casciano, Senator Zeldin, Maria, Zachary and Dr. Parker with the tabs collected so far. Mr. Abrams speaking to the students.
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Started in 1964 by Sam Gershowitz, Gershow Recycling began as a two man operation with a tractor and trailer, a boom truck and the first portable car flattener. Now with the second generation carrying on the legacy, Gershow generates over 750 jobs, contributing millions of dollars to the local economy, while helping to preserve Long Island's environment. Gershow Recycling takes aluminum, brass, copper, steel, cast iron, appliances, cars and vehicles. In keeping with its philosophy of "Conserving the Future by Recycling the Past," Gershow Recycling purchases scrap metal that would have otherwise wound up in local landfills, and turns them into high-quality scrap products for recycling. The company produces both ferrous and non-ferrous products.