Roundup: 'Hungerthon' run to help aid poverty

A signed Bruce Springsteen guitar. A ride for a child on the Zamboni re-icing machine between periods at a New York Rangers game. Serving as the ball boy or girl at a New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets game.

Those are some of the items up for auction as part of the annual “Hungerthon” run by an anti-poverty group founded by the late folk singer Harry Chapin.

The event kicks into high gear Tuesday as leaders of Manhattan-based WhyHunger take to the airwaves with appearances throughout the day on radio stations including CBS 880, WFAN, 1010 WINS, WOR and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

Participants can bid on 165 items — bidding on the Springsteen guitar Monday had reached $14,500 — or purchase less expensive items such as a John Lennon T-shirt. Bids and purchases can be made at hungerthon.org.

The auction ends Dec. 10 and sales will continue until the end of December, said WhyHunger executive director Bill Ayres, who co-founded the organization with Chapin in 1975. Chapin died in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway in 1981.

Other items up for bid include a pass to be on the field at Yankee Stadium for batting practice before a game, an autographed Billy Joel guitar, another guitar signed by Katy Perry, and a drum head signed by members of the Allman Brothers Band. Chapin's brother Tom is offering to perform a concert at the top bidder's home, school or church.

“The Hungerthon campaign is an incredible opportunity for listeners to learn about how hunger and poverty is affecting Americans today and what they can do to ... make a lasting difference,” Ayres said.

WhyHunger is an antipoverty nonprofit that founded Long Island Cares, a Hauppauge-based food bank that supplies pantries and soup kitchens across Long Island. The organization also tries to educate the public about the root causes of poverty and possible grassroots solutions. -- TED PHILLIPS

ISLANDWIDE

Workshops to help immigrants

Advocacy groups will be hosting workshops in Brentwood and Hempstead this week to answer questions from immigrants who believe they may qualify for lawful status under the executive order issued by President Barack Obama last week.

Make the Road New York, a nonprofit that advocates on issues affecting working class Latinos, will host the Brentwood workshops in Spanish, with English translation, Tuesday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in its office at 1090 Suffolk Ave. in Brentwood.

Speakers will offer a free update on “what we know so far from the Obama administration on eligibility requirements,” said Daniel Altschuler, the group's Long Island coordinator. Those who want to have an attorney evaluate their cases can do so by paying $50.

The Central American Refugee Center, a nonprofit providing legal services to immigrants, will provide a free overview of the programs under Obama's order as well as guidance on “how people can get documentation they are going to need” to apply, said Patrick Young, the group's program director.

The refugee center workshops will be held in Spanish only and take place Tuesday at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in the group's office at 91 N. Franklin St. in Hempstead.

Both advocacy groups said they plan to have more workshops next week.

For information on the Brentwood workshops, call 631-231-2220. For Hempstead workshops, call 516-489-8330. -- VICTOR MANUEL RAMOS

PORT WASHINGTON

LI man, adopted son stuck in Kiev, Ukraine

A Port Washington man and his adopted Ukrainian son are stuck in Kiev after they failed to file all the necessary paperwork on time to return to the United States, Rep. Steve Israel said Monday.

Israel (D-Huntington) called on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department to expedite entry for Vadim Lacal, 16, who was adopted by Bill and Marianna Lacal.

Bill Lacal had traveled to Ukraine earlier this month to bring Vadim Lacal to the United States, after a court there approved the adoption. But the U.S. Embassy in Kiev denied a passport for Vadim Lacal because the paperwork wasn't filed within 180-days since the family started the application process.

“They thought the hard part was over when the Ukrainian court granted the adoption,” Israel said in an interview.

“After waiting for so long for my son, it's heartbreaking that paperwork is keeping my family apart,” Marianna Lacal said in a news release.

The U.S. State Department referred questions to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which did not respond to a request for comment.

Israel said waiving the rules and allowing Vadim to come home “is simply common sense.”

Bill Lacal and Vadim's flight is scheduled to return on Wednesday, according to Israel spokeswoman Samantha Slater. Lacal is unable to return to the U.S. with Vadim and cannot leave his son there since he is now his legal guardian, Israel's office said in a news release.

HUNTINGTON

30th anniversary for adult day care center

Huntington's adult day care center recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, commemorating its Nov. 13, 1984, launch as the first center of its kind on Long Island.

The milestone was marked Nov. 14 at the facility located at the Village Green Center, 423 Park Ave.

The program serves frail elderly and those with cognitive challenges, officials said. Daily activities, crafts, parties and day trips that help maintain physical and mental abilities, socialization, companionship and enhanced self-esteem are offered. It currently serves 64 participants.

The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a breakfast and second meal. Individual transportation, with handicapped accessibility, is provided free of charge for Huntington residents.

Center participants “have the opportunity here to do things, which is so important,” Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone said in a news release marking the celebration. “We celebrate the commitment you are making, your family is making and the Town of Huntington is making.”

Town officials said the fees are “budget-friendly” and are covered by some long-term care insurance plans and Medicaid. For more information about the program, call 631-351-3293. -- DEBORAH S. MORRIS

LONG BEACH/HEMPSTEAD

Turkey, canned food giveaways in Nassau

The Long Beach Martin Luther King Jr. Center and the Coordinated Agency for Spanish Americans in Hempstead will be the site of turkey giveaways to the needy Tuesday, Nassau County officials announced.

Turkeys and donated canned foods will be given out from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, at the CASA offices at 40 Main St. in Hempstead.

At the MLK Center, turkeys will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, “and whatever is left will go the next day,” said Jostyn Hernandez, a spokesman for Nassau Comptroller George Maragos. The center is located at 615 Riverside Blvd. in Long Beach.

“It is ... the perfect time for those that can to donate to those that need,” said Maragos, who on Monday purchased 50 turkeys for the effort.

County Executive Edward Mangano, who got 184 turkeys from the Arumdaun Presbyterian Church in Bethpage, also had other turkey donations, not counting those expressly for his veterans “stand down” in Freeport Tuesday.