On Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012, The Michael Magro Foundation presented their eighth annual “An Evening of Tasting and Giving”, a fundraiser that is a celebration of a lifetime of friends. I am blessed to state that, as an author and as a friend of the Magro Family, I was able to experience, first hand, what a wonderful occasion this truly was.
When one first enters the expansive and breathtaking grounds upon which this event took place, The Woodlands, in beautiful Woodbury, NY, one is met with a vision of Old Mansion that turn of the century feel of celebration, when one took pride in dressing up to go out to
eat. That wonderful feeling of knowing, with a sense of great anticipation, that you were a part of something that was bigger than yourself.
After signing in, one could either walk to the left, where an enormous martini bar leaned with pride against an antique wall, or straight ahead into the main room. One needs to bring their appetite to an event such as this; you are certainly not going to leave hungry when you see the
stretch of Chef’s who are offering specially prepared tasting dishes for your donation at the door of $75.00.
Music at the event was graciously donated by the talents of Charles Henry, a professional who is not only humble but so incredibly friendly that one gets the feeling that you have known him for a lifetime. His music included pop, rock, disco, jazz, classical, and alternative
music, spanning the 1940’s through today’s music. I could see my teenaged daughter, bopping her head to the beat. Their table was set back a ways, to make room for the other tables that were filled with food, drink, and raffle items.
Speaking of raffle items, there were grand auctions, which included raffle tickets at a price of 5 tickets for $20. While walking through the event, everything from a French basket of toiletries and a massage from Massage Envy, to a barbecue with all of the grilling needs you could ever want, to a Home Depot basket with tools and supplies that the man or woman of the house could ever want (think Tim Allen in“Home Improvement” - “Whoof, woof, woof”), had a basket attached, and you were invited to place your raffle ticket within. There were 44
baskets that required an orange ticket. For a red raffle ticket, which was $20 for one Grand Raffle item, you could place your ticket into a basket for a dinner certificate at Porter House Restaurant of New York (donated by Michael Ammirati), or for a $250 gift certificate to Americana at Manhasset (two of which were donated by Americana), or for a flat screen television, which was graciously donated by Gutterman’s Chapel of Woodbury. In all, there were 12 grand raffle items to bid upon. That made 56 items for the raffles, and that was
not even the best part of the evening.
The emcee for the evening was Tom Schaudel of Jewel Restaurant in Melville. After Terrie Magro began the evening with a
presentation of a $10,000 donation from the Michael Magro Foundation to the Child Life Specialist of The Children’s Medical Center at Winthrop University Hospital ,a video which was created by Andy Morreale, husband of Nancy Morreale, social worker for Winthrop’s Cancer Care for Kids, was displayed on two large flat screened TV’s. The Child Life video, which showcased the child life program, was the main focal point of the evening; the event was to raise awareness about the child life program at Winthrop’s Cancer Care for Kids (CCFK)
as well as the inpatient Pediatric unit. The video showcased how medical play and comfort is a focus of Pediatrics; how art and music therapy is so important in the life of a child with cancer or a blood disease, especially during treatment. There were not many dry eyes during the presentation of the video, which ended on a happy note; one child from the program piped up, “When are you going to take my picture??” Hers was the final smile upon the screen, which left this first-timer with a sense of profound belonging, a belonging to something
that was higher, bigger, more important, than life itself. It was about children, children who have the ability now to be our future, because of the advances that have been made, with donations that have been attained by nonprofits, such as The Michael Magro Foundation.
The Child Life Program begins in the emergency department of the Children‘s Medical Center; a specialist from Child Life accompanies the pediatric patient to x-ray, on special procedures, in order to assist that child with comfort and easing anxiety. Child Life Programs are now
located at the clinic in Hempstead, at Pediatric Associates on the second floor of the building where CCFK is located, at 120 Old Country Road in Mineola, as well as on the 5th floor of Winthrop University Hospital. Stony Brook Children’s Hospital also has a pediatric oncology division with Child Life Specialists that Terrie and the foundation have started to work with.
The Child Life Specialists are the unsung heroes of CCFK; they are there for all levels of care for the pediatric patient. They bring along an activities box, which is loaded with crayons, view finders, coloring books -all distractions in order to help the time pass quickly for a
child. Distraction with play assists those children from worrying about what comes next, and having someone there to hold their hands, someone who can accompany them to CAT Scans and MRI’s, lumbar punctures, and be there, during a procedure, who is not a parent, makes a world of difference for these children.
The newest item for the Child Life Specialists donated by the Foundation is the Medical Memories book. It is a scrapbook for the children who are admitted to the emergency department. It allows the child to write and express their feelings, not unlike the popular book, “Wreck This Journal”. The Medical Memories scrapbook has been customized for Winthrop and is available in English and Spanish.
The real excitement for the evening, as if the evening were not in itself electrifying, occurred when Tom Schaudel took the microphone and began the bidding for the live auction, which was dinner for six at the winner’s home, cooked and served by Chef Paul Magro. The bidding began with a bang, when someone in the audience bided $500 for the prize. The bidding war took off when Joseph DeSena, one of the Magro Foundation board members, and Louis Pannullo, DDS, a periodontist from Williston Park, began to outbid each other. The crowd was in amazed silence; when the bidding began to escalate to fabulous proportions, there was a unified, “Ahhhh!” as the final auction price was $3,500 for each bidder (both Dr. Pannullo and Mr. DeSena), for the honor of having Chef Paul make them a dinner. Along with that price, Joe Sheehy a wine specialist from Stew Leonard’s in Farmingdale would come to the house to donate wines that would coordinate perfectly with the meal. It was certainly enthralling to witness!
All of the beverages and desserts were generously donated by the vendors themselves. Sweet Karma Desserts, a bakery that is soon
moving to Plainview, offers gluten free wares that were absolutely delicious; they offered their “Karma Cups” in flavors such as Peanut Butter, Key Lime Blueberry, Strawberry Shortcake, and other mouthwatering tastes.
All of the baskets that were raffled during the evening (during the grand raffle) were designed by Daria DeSena, decorator, and Flowers by Black Dahlia florist Sheryl Capelli. The baskets are a signature at the event, and each one came with loads of unseen treats inside. Most of the items were donated, although a few were purchased. The presentation of each basket was prettier than the next.
A wine pull was also part of the evening’s festivities. For a $20 donation, one could pull a cork out of a bucket. Your number would correspond with a donated wine, which meant that everyone went home a winner that night! As if you were not a winner, just for attending the festivities…
Most of the vendors present have been with the MMF since the inception of the annual event. However, new bakery Lulu of Fresh Meadows, along with Opici Wines and Wine4All, were the newest vendors at the Tasting Event. Opici Wines, which is a distributor that sells to restaurants and liquor stores, had one of the smoothest Pinot Grigio wines that this author has ever allowed to pass her lips.
Madison’s, located in Williston Park and Piccolo‘s of Mineola, were also new vendors. The Michael Magro Foundation wishes
to offer many thanks to Opici, Wine4All, Madison’s, and Lulu’s, Piccolo’s for being a part of this wonderful event. And a special thank you to the newer restaurant table, J.Michael’s, located in Northport, they offered one fine Tuscan Shephard’s pie which was to die for. Market
Bistro, West End Café, Novita, Vitae, McQuades, Fatfish, Cirella‘s, Crossroads, Sea Levels, Farm House Kitchen and Jewel, The Michael Magro Foundation salutes you for your on going generosity to this event. Among the restaurants were two bread tables, Cardinali from Carle Place and Spiga Bakery from Bellmore. Bakeries have a great set up in the back, Cascon Baking Company and Gourmet Bake Shop have joined us every year showing their support. To compliment the food, Michael Romano of Romano Brands wine and Mike Ferrante of Manhattan Beer added a great dimension to the night. Terrie hopes that all the attendee’s visit these establishments and enjoy many items off the menu.
Most of the restaurants, as mentioned previously, have been with the annual event since its inception. One palpable memory of the evening, as expressed by Terrie Magro, was this: “There’s a lot of love in that room. There is a high amount of energy; people are happy to be there. Everyone is there because they WANT to be there - for Paul, for us. Everyone is on their“A” game, ALWAYS; from previous years, you don’t think that their food can get any better than it previously was, but it just does - it gets better and better.”
All of the chefs who were present that night are friends with each other, so it is an evening of love, of joy, and of hope. As Terrie put it, “There was a nice grouping this year; it was nice to see all of the old faces, but to see some new ones…”, well, that makes all the difference in the world. It means that the message is getting out, that the Michael Magro Foundation, who received a citation from Rose Walker this year in recognition of their humanitarian efforts, is making a difference, for the good of all involved. And I have to tell you, I will do this event, again and again. Join me, won’t you? I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. And all of the penguins who were out in force
that night, in Michael’s memory, will nod their heads in silent approval. The night was a night worth remembering. Take a chance next year and go out during the week. You will certainly be glad you did; I know I was!
Everyone’s generosity at this event helped to raise $ 66,000 for the Foundation. All of the money raised goes right back to the foundation, everyone volunteers their time to help children with cancer and other chronic pediatric conditions.
Written
by: Freelance writer Patty Servidio
When one first enters the expansive and breathtaking grounds upon which this event took place, The Woodlands, in beautiful Woodbury, NY, one is met with a vision of Old Mansion that turn of the century feel of celebration, when one took pride in dressing up to go out to
eat. That wonderful feeling of knowing, with a sense of great anticipation, that you were a part of something that was bigger than yourself.
After signing in, one could either walk to the left, where an enormous martini bar leaned with pride against an antique wall, or straight ahead into the main room. One needs to bring their appetite to an event such as this; you are certainly not going to leave hungry when you see the
stretch of Chef’s who are offering specially prepared tasting dishes for your donation at the door of $75.00.
Music at the event was graciously donated by the talents of Charles Henry, a professional who is not only humble but so incredibly friendly that one gets the feeling that you have known him for a lifetime. His music included pop, rock, disco, jazz, classical, and alternative
music, spanning the 1940’s through today’s music. I could see my teenaged daughter, bopping her head to the beat. Their table was set back a ways, to make room for the other tables that were filled with food, drink, and raffle items.
Speaking of raffle items, there were grand auctions, which included raffle tickets at a price of 5 tickets for $20. While walking through the event, everything from a French basket of toiletries and a massage from Massage Envy, to a barbecue with all of the grilling needs you could ever want, to a Home Depot basket with tools and supplies that the man or woman of the house could ever want (think Tim Allen in“Home Improvement” - “Whoof, woof, woof”), had a basket attached, and you were invited to place your raffle ticket within. There were 44
baskets that required an orange ticket. For a red raffle ticket, which was $20 for one Grand Raffle item, you could place your ticket into a basket for a dinner certificate at Porter House Restaurant of New York (donated by Michael Ammirati), or for a $250 gift certificate to Americana at Manhasset (two of which were donated by Americana), or for a flat screen television, which was graciously donated by Gutterman’s Chapel of Woodbury. In all, there were 12 grand raffle items to bid upon. That made 56 items for the raffles, and that was
not even the best part of the evening.
The emcee for the evening was Tom Schaudel of Jewel Restaurant in Melville. After Terrie Magro began the evening with a
presentation of a $10,000 donation from the Michael Magro Foundation to the Child Life Specialist of The Children’s Medical Center at Winthrop University Hospital ,a video which was created by Andy Morreale, husband of Nancy Morreale, social worker for Winthrop’s Cancer Care for Kids, was displayed on two large flat screened TV’s. The Child Life video, which showcased the child life program, was the main focal point of the evening; the event was to raise awareness about the child life program at Winthrop’s Cancer Care for Kids (CCFK)
as well as the inpatient Pediatric unit. The video showcased how medical play and comfort is a focus of Pediatrics; how art and music therapy is so important in the life of a child with cancer or a blood disease, especially during treatment. There were not many dry eyes during the presentation of the video, which ended on a happy note; one child from the program piped up, “When are you going to take my picture??” Hers was the final smile upon the screen, which left this first-timer with a sense of profound belonging, a belonging to something
that was higher, bigger, more important, than life itself. It was about children, children who have the ability now to be our future, because of the advances that have been made, with donations that have been attained by nonprofits, such as The Michael Magro Foundation.
The Child Life Program begins in the emergency department of the Children‘s Medical Center; a specialist from Child Life accompanies the pediatric patient to x-ray, on special procedures, in order to assist that child with comfort and easing anxiety. Child Life Programs are now
located at the clinic in Hempstead, at Pediatric Associates on the second floor of the building where CCFK is located, at 120 Old Country Road in Mineola, as well as on the 5th floor of Winthrop University Hospital. Stony Brook Children’s Hospital also has a pediatric oncology division with Child Life Specialists that Terrie and the foundation have started to work with.
The Child Life Specialists are the unsung heroes of CCFK; they are there for all levels of care for the pediatric patient. They bring along an activities box, which is loaded with crayons, view finders, coloring books -all distractions in order to help the time pass quickly for a
child. Distraction with play assists those children from worrying about what comes next, and having someone there to hold their hands, someone who can accompany them to CAT Scans and MRI’s, lumbar punctures, and be there, during a procedure, who is not a parent, makes a world of difference for these children.
The newest item for the Child Life Specialists donated by the Foundation is the Medical Memories book. It is a scrapbook for the children who are admitted to the emergency department. It allows the child to write and express their feelings, not unlike the popular book, “Wreck This Journal”. The Medical Memories scrapbook has been customized for Winthrop and is available in English and Spanish.
The real excitement for the evening, as if the evening were not in itself electrifying, occurred when Tom Schaudel took the microphone and began the bidding for the live auction, which was dinner for six at the winner’s home, cooked and served by Chef Paul Magro. The bidding began with a bang, when someone in the audience bided $500 for the prize. The bidding war took off when Joseph DeSena, one of the Magro Foundation board members, and Louis Pannullo, DDS, a periodontist from Williston Park, began to outbid each other. The crowd was in amazed silence; when the bidding began to escalate to fabulous proportions, there was a unified, “Ahhhh!” as the final auction price was $3,500 for each bidder (both Dr. Pannullo and Mr. DeSena), for the honor of having Chef Paul make them a dinner. Along with that price, Joe Sheehy a wine specialist from Stew Leonard’s in Farmingdale would come to the house to donate wines that would coordinate perfectly with the meal. It was certainly enthralling to witness!
All of the beverages and desserts were generously donated by the vendors themselves. Sweet Karma Desserts, a bakery that is soon
moving to Plainview, offers gluten free wares that were absolutely delicious; they offered their “Karma Cups” in flavors such as Peanut Butter, Key Lime Blueberry, Strawberry Shortcake, and other mouthwatering tastes.
All of the baskets that were raffled during the evening (during the grand raffle) were designed by Daria DeSena, decorator, and Flowers by Black Dahlia florist Sheryl Capelli. The baskets are a signature at the event, and each one came with loads of unseen treats inside. Most of the items were donated, although a few were purchased. The presentation of each basket was prettier than the next.
A wine pull was also part of the evening’s festivities. For a $20 donation, one could pull a cork out of a bucket. Your number would correspond with a donated wine, which meant that everyone went home a winner that night! As if you were not a winner, just for attending the festivities…
Most of the vendors present have been with the MMF since the inception of the annual event. However, new bakery Lulu of Fresh Meadows, along with Opici Wines and Wine4All, were the newest vendors at the Tasting Event. Opici Wines, which is a distributor that sells to restaurants and liquor stores, had one of the smoothest Pinot Grigio wines that this author has ever allowed to pass her lips.
Madison’s, located in Williston Park and Piccolo‘s of Mineola, were also new vendors. The Michael Magro Foundation wishes
to offer many thanks to Opici, Wine4All, Madison’s, and Lulu’s, Piccolo’s for being a part of this wonderful event. And a special thank you to the newer restaurant table, J.Michael’s, located in Northport, they offered one fine Tuscan Shephard’s pie which was to die for. Market
Bistro, West End Café, Novita, Vitae, McQuades, Fatfish, Cirella‘s, Crossroads, Sea Levels, Farm House Kitchen and Jewel, The Michael Magro Foundation salutes you for your on going generosity to this event. Among the restaurants were two bread tables, Cardinali from Carle Place and Spiga Bakery from Bellmore. Bakeries have a great set up in the back, Cascon Baking Company and Gourmet Bake Shop have joined us every year showing their support. To compliment the food, Michael Romano of Romano Brands wine and Mike Ferrante of Manhattan Beer added a great dimension to the night. Terrie hopes that all the attendee’s visit these establishments and enjoy many items off the menu.
Most of the restaurants, as mentioned previously, have been with the annual event since its inception. One palpable memory of the evening, as expressed by Terrie Magro, was this: “There’s a lot of love in that room. There is a high amount of energy; people are happy to be there. Everyone is there because they WANT to be there - for Paul, for us. Everyone is on their“A” game, ALWAYS; from previous years, you don’t think that their food can get any better than it previously was, but it just does - it gets better and better.”
All of the chefs who were present that night are friends with each other, so it is an evening of love, of joy, and of hope. As Terrie put it, “There was a nice grouping this year; it was nice to see all of the old faces, but to see some new ones…”, well, that makes all the difference in the world. It means that the message is getting out, that the Michael Magro Foundation, who received a citation from Rose Walker this year in recognition of their humanitarian efforts, is making a difference, for the good of all involved. And I have to tell you, I will do this event, again and again. Join me, won’t you? I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. And all of the penguins who were out in force
that night, in Michael’s memory, will nod their heads in silent approval. The night was a night worth remembering. Take a chance next year and go out during the week. You will certainly be glad you did; I know I was!
Everyone’s generosity at this event helped to raise $ 66,000 for the Foundation. All of the money raised goes right back to the foundation, everyone volunteers their time to help children with cancer and other chronic pediatric conditions.
Written
by: Freelance writer Patty Servidio
SAVE THE DATE FOR AN EVENING OF TASTING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012
Download the invitation
 Purchase Admission Tickets:
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JOURNAL AD OPPORTUNITIESWe welcome your participation in the Michael Magro
Foundation annual Evening of Tasting and Giving Journal Campaign. The journal gives opportunities for companies and local business to advertise in a positive way reaching 100’s of people at our event. Evening of Tasting Journal: 5 ½ x 8 ½ Full page...........$250.00 Half page.......... $125.00 Business Card... $ 75.00 Email artwork to: mmagrofoundation@yahoo.com PDF EPS or Hi Resolution JPEG Please mail artwork and payment before Sept. 7, 2012 Download and print a journal ad request form Support us with a journal adFull Page Ad
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