The Village of Massapeuqa Park took time out Monday to honor a passionate group of local women determined to make a difference in their community.
Dawn Kostakis, the President of the Massapequa Moms, said that being a relatively new organization hasn’t stopped them from giving their all to make Massapequa a better place to live.
“Massapequa Moms is a group that’s been going on for about two years now,” she said. “We started by doing a pay-it-forward with an elderly woman to help her pay for her husband’s medication...we raised $1000 for her. From there, we went on to raise money to help a single mother of six with terminal cancer.”
From that point onward, it was clear that there was no stopping the Massapequa Moms.
“We’ve ballooned in record time...right now we have almost 2,700 members,”Kostakis said. “We hold regular events to help people who are in need...we’ve done a lot of fundraising for Hurricane Sandy, YES Community Counseling Center...we also did Adopt-A-Family for Christmas, and now we’re also supporting Autism awareness.”
Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna singled out Kostakis’s group this week in light of their tireless work in helping those whose lives have been touched by tragedy or adversity.
“Tonight we want to recognize what is a very important group in the Massapequas, and that’s the Massapequa Moms,” he said. “We’ve worked with them in a number of instances...we’ve received a letter outlining all of your accomplishments and what you do in the community, and reading this letter, I have to tell you...all of you are to be commended.”
As a part of recognizing this charitable group of ladies, Altadonna presented an elaborate plaque to the Massapequa Moms at Monday's Village Board meeting, as well as a personal donation in the form of a $500 check towards their next benefit.
“This is a grassroots organization, and I can’t believe what you’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time,” Altadonna said. “You took it upon yourselves to take care of families, to take care of individuals, the YES Program, housing...there’s a community spirit that drives what you’ve done. We’re proud to live in Massapequa Park, and you’re an example of why.”
Kostakis was honored by the praise given to her group by Mayor Altadonna, but she said that the real reward is seeing her friends and neighbors working together to help those less fortunate.
“It’s very humbling to know that, when everyone works together, that we can really get a lot of things accomplished, and get them accomplished very quickly,” she said. “There’s definitively a lot of unity in the community, and people who normally wouldn’t even know each other are doing things together and getting things done.”
If you want to find out more about the Massapequa Moms and their upcoming events, youc an check out their Facebook page by clicking here.
