Way to Go! Plainview-Old Bethpage student sings for charities

A Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School student with a passion for performing has used her musical abilities to support a number of charities — both locally and internationally.

Charlize Tuozzo, a sixth-grader, has sung at fundraisers ranging from the Long Island Hospitality Ball, which benefited the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, to an event for Helping Hands, the nonprofit foundation of Adventureland amusement park in Farmingdale.

Her biggest effort consisted of coordinating a Ukraine relief benefit that featured singers including former Miss Connecticut Olga Litvinenko and “America’s Got Talent” breakout star Sal Valentinetti. The concert held last spring at The Paramount in Huntington raised nearly $3,000 for the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission.

“I love to sing, so I decided to do a concert,” said Tuozzo, 11. Of her motivation to coordinate the concert, she said: “My aunt and her grandparents were in Ukraine and a bomb hit by their house; we didn’t hear from them for a long time.”

Tuozzo’s other achievements include being a finalist last year at the Apollo Theater’s “Amateur Night at the Apollo” and having appeared in commercials for brands ranging from Crayola to L’Oréal. She also voices a character in the animated television series “Super Wings,” which is available on various streaming services.

Most recently, she recorded and released her first single, “Replay,” which is available on streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.