Angela's House Blog

  • May 27th, 2016 by Angela's House

    NEWSLETTER Spring 2016

    Angela’s House offers programs and supports and will coordinate services to families who need care for their medically frail children at home. For children who cannot be cared for at home, Angela’s House I, II and III are specially designed homes that provide a warm environment with 24-hour nursing care to accommodate the children’s complex medical and physical needs.

    Angelas-House-Spring-2016-Final-50Testimony from Johnny’s Mom

    Angela’s House and what it means to me.

    I was a young mother of four when my youngest child Johnny’s medical condition changed when he required a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. Up until Johnny was nearly 5 (1998) he lived at home. With his medical needs growing I was unable to care for him at home with us all.
    Through what I would consider to be divine intervention, I was put in contact with Bob Policastro, a man and his family that had been through what my family was going through. Bob and his wife Angie have been working tirelessly to have a home built for children that their medical needs were too great for families to care for their child at home but whose family is on Long Island. It was an additional two year wait for the house to be built but it was built and that meant my son would be on Long Island with his family and it meant a shorter distance to drive for a visit.
    Johnny spent nearly 16 years at Angela’s House and during that time he has received excellent medical care and a tremendous amount of LOVE. The wonderful nurses and aides tirelessly provided Johnny with kisses, hugs and jokes. Johnny rewarded them with the simplest of gestures…his smile.
    Over the years my children and myself considered everyone at Angela’s House a second family to us. Johnny had additional brothers and sisters along with the staff that became his second moms. We were truly blessed and fortunate to have this special place for Johnny.

    Holiday Party

     

    Angela’s House Spring Gala

     

    Your Gifts Make a Difference

    Donations can be sent to:
    Angela’s House
    PO Box 5052
    Hauppauge, NY 11788

    Angela’s House is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; your gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

    Please make checks out to: “Angela’s House”

    Angela’s House uses public programs, grants and donations to assist families caring for their children with special health care needs that are medically fragile, chronically ill or living with a life threatening illness. Your donations and assistance with fundraising allows us to ease the financial burdens our families experience with the day-to-day care of these children. These funds are very important especially for children who need help right away but often must wait months to get assistance through public programs. These funds are used to purchase medical supplies, medical care, therapeutic equipment, and other items not covered by insurance. Below are a few of the families and children we assist in our programs.

     

    Donations in Memory of
    Philip Bonvino
    Rose Gulielmo
    Eric Yablonski
    Peter Tumminello
    Graham Gurcan
    Bonnie Farrell
    Andrew Baierlein
    Dominic Capone
    Katelyn Hesselberg
    Zach Cashin
    Brandon LeMaire
    Antonella DiGiovanni
    Jake Spadalik
    Evan Dragan
    Samantha Jo Lazzazaro
    Angela Policastro
    Angela Lombardo
    Abigail Rose Peyman
    Emma Nelson
    John McGrath
    Nicolas Alfiero-Rosario
    Zack Merlin

    In Lieu of Gifts
    Morrone’s 40th Wedding Anniversary
    Brooks Hallahan’s Christening 

    Donations in Honor of
    Mackenzie Borchers
    Ethan Leest
    Caroline Serva
    Grace Feeney
    Isabella Viola
    Gina DiMartino
    Oliver Miller Wilhel
    Otto Warnke
    James Getters
    Margaret Kenney
    Anthony Olivero
    Michele Felline
    Reuben Brewer
    Adam Shapiro
    Stephanie Belli
    Angel Jasmine Hollins
    Diana Corte
    Andrew Berliner
    Elaine Pagano
    Ed Tompkins
    Billy Christiansen
    Ronald Richards NYPD
    Philomenia Lampone
    An Ferdinand Casares

    In Lieu of Flowers
    Samantha Lazzaro
    Johnny Boutin
    Lorraine Bonnett

    Planned Gifts

    For information on making a Planned Gift, please contact Angela’s House so that we may assist you. Gift opportunities include: Bequests, Life Insurance, Real Estate, Stock, Trusts and Wills.

    Message from the Executive Director Bob Policastro

    bob-policastroI am often asked – “How do [we] handle the many tragic things [we] see with regards to the children we assist?” It is a good question and so simple for me to answer. I think back to when my wife and I were faced with our own challenges with our daughter; we did all we could to love her and give her the best we could. While we may not have the breakthrough technology to cure or heal the medically fragile children we assist, we can work with the children and their parents to give the children the best quality of life possible. On the cover you read about Johnny and his journey with us, in his mom’s own words. While we knew we were incapable of changing his medical condition, we could (and did) give him the life that he deserved. We also do our best to extend love and compassion and give peace to his family and other families who have lost a child. It is painful to see a child pass; we can only hope that the parents find the peace they so very much deserve. We are so immensely proud of our staff and the quality of care that our children receive. We know that like Johnny, there are so many children and families that are benefitting from our existence. But, there is some uncertainty. There is an important issue we are currently being faced with. New York State is continuing to redesign the Medicaid service delivery system. We do not know the long term ramification(s) but we do see problems now. We do not have a new home in the works due to a lack of funding to support it, not a lack of need. Our medically fragile children, who age out of our program(s), have no residential alternatives to support them. This is a huge issue and dilemma for us. The pressure soon will be to move our children into managed Medicaid programs which we feel is based on limiting services. We are concerned about changes to our work with the coordination of care. Unfortunately, all of these changes equate to cuts within our support network. It is for these reasons that your support is more important than ever before. We know that we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and supporters. We mean it so sincerely when we say we could not do what we do and help who we help without you. So, again, thank you so much for your generosity! 

    angel-of-hopeSave the Date: Angel of Hope Candlelight Vigil

    December 3rd, 2016 – 4:00 PM at Eisenhower Park

    For all families that have lost a child.

    Thanks to Our Supporters

     

    Recent Events

    My Country Cares for Angela’s House

    Visit us and like us at the above  named Facebook page 

    My Country 96.1FM, a JVC Broadcasting Station, held its 5th annual all-day Radio-thon fundraiser, which included on-air donations, on-air auctions and an ebay auction for Angela’s House. DJs Phathead and Bill Powers interviewed children and parents that visited the studio during the event.  

     

    Eat & Greet with NY Mets & Long Island’s own Steven Matz

     

    Serva Family  Angela’s House Golf Outing 

     

    SAVE THESE DATES:

    • Fishing Fundraiser – July 13th, Captree State Park
    • Arthur & William J. Pace Memorial Golf Outing  – August 22nd, Nissequogue Golf Club
    • Angela’s House Walk-A-Thon – September 18th
    • Follow us on Facebook or our website to see our upcoming events and activities

    For more information, sponsorships or to register online, visit www.angelashouse.org or call Johanna Rotta at 631-796-2723 or email jrotta@angelashouse.org. Visit and like our Angela’s House Facebook page for all current information!

  • May 2nd, 2016 by Bob

    Rothco shows support at home

    Rothco2Hauppauge, NY (5/2/2016) – This past winter Ronkonkoma- based military clothing and gear supplier, Rothco, and its employees selected Angela’s House to be the recipient of funds raised during their annual year-end campaign.

    As Howard Somberg, President of the company stated, “Here at Rothco we are very interested in working with local, grass-roots organizations that provide vital support to those of our community in need. Angela’s House is a great example of a facility that is providing much needed care to children and their families and we know that the funds we give go directly to help those who really need it.”

    The incredibly generous and unexpected $30,000 donation from the company and its staff has enabled Angela’s House to substantially increase our Reimbursement Program’s budget for 2016. This program allows for requests for funding to cover such items as medical equipment, nursing support, therapies, medications and making their homes handicapped accessible. These are critical to the well-being of the children and a great help to the families caring for them. The funds, which are avaliable to our over 650 children, are only tapped into after all other avenues have been explored, including Medicaid.

    “When we were asked by Rothco to speak to their staff, we learned how Howard Somberg had created a culture of giving at his company. Giving back to local non-profits is very important to the company and we are honored and humbled to have been selected as one of the non-profits they would support,” said Bob Policastro, Founder and Executive Director of Angela’s House.

    For more information about Angela’s House please visit: www.AngelasHouse.org.

    For additional information, please visit:

    Angela’s House:                               www.AngelasHouse.org

    Facebook page:                                www.facebook.com/angelashouse

     

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    About Rothco

    Rothco is the foremost supplier of military, tactical, survival and outdoor products. Founded in 1953, Rothco, a family-owned business run by Milton Somberg and Howard Somberg, has provided the military clothing and outdoor retailer with top quality merchandise and the finest service anywhere for over 60 years. Today Rothco serves over 10,000 dealers globally with over 4,000 items to choose from. For more information, please visit www.Rothco.com

     

    About Angela’s House

    Angela’s House is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that assists families caring for children with special health care needs that are medically fragile, chronically ill or suffering from a life threatening illness. The organization assists families caring for their children at home, and for children that can no longer live at home, we run three unique homes where children can live with 24 hour nursing support. Our new home in Stony Brook cares for children that require ventilator support to assist them with breathing.  The Policastro family founded this agency 24 years ago following the tragic crisis they faced with their daughter Angela. This parent-first mentality has become the approach and philosophy they apply to each family they assist.

    More information about Angela’s House can be found at www.AngelasHouse.org.

     

  • April 28th, 2016 by Bob

    BMW of Oyster Bay helps Angela’s House

    BMW of Oyster Bay hosted a meet and greet with Steven Matz of the NY Mets and named Angela’s House the beneficiary of toys, gift cards and monies raised

  • April 28th, 2016 by drew

    Steven Matz Throwing For Long Island Children in Need During 2016 Season

    Fans can pledge to donate toward every strikeout Steven Matz throws in 2016 to help Long Island families and children living with severe medical conditions.

    New York, NY (April 21, 2016) – Throwing strikeouts this season has taken on additional meaning for New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz. Matz is using his spotlight on the mound during the 2016 season to raise money for Angela’s House, an organization dedicated to helping families in Long Island provide the services needed to support technologically dependent and medically fragile children.

    Fans can join his PLEDGE IT campaign and donate for every strikeout Matz records this season by visiting: pledgeit.org/steven-matz.

    Matz, a Long Island native, has dedicated his performance on the mound to supporting over 650 medically fragile children and their families who are receiving supports from Angela’s House.

    “Growing up on Long Island, I dreamed of heading to Queens to play for the Mets. Now that I’m blessed to be living that dream, it’s important to me to stay connected to my roots,” said Matz.” One way I do that is to stay involved with people doing great things on the ground. Angela’s House is one such organization.”

    Matz has personally pledged to match the first $10,000 raised in the campaign.

    “This is very generous of Steven Matz, the fundraiser is an amazing idea and this will mean the world to the medically fragile children and their families to know people in the community are thinking of them.” Bob Policastro, Executive Director and founder of Angela’s House

    Angela’s House offers hope for families and children living with severe medical conditions. Their home care program works with children that live at home with their parents by coordinating the home care services needed to support these children living at home. Since its founding, Angela’s House has helped over 10,000 children and families on Long Island. More information about Angela’s House can be found at www.angelashouse.org.

    For additional information about this campaign, please contact :
    Rob Martin: 781 405 4266, RMartin@teamicon.net
    Johanna Rotta: 631 796 2723, JRotta@angelashouse.org

    PLEDGE IT is an online fundraising platform that empowers teams and athletes at any level for all sports to raise money based on their athletic performance. Fans can pledge any dollar amount for every touchdown, run, or point scored to benefit their team or favorite cause. PLEDGE IT has been featured on ESPN, Ellen DeGeneres Show, USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, and MSNBC. For more information about PLEDGE IT, visit www.pledgeit.org.

     

  • April 7th, 2016 by Bob

    Girls Scout Troop 85 helps Angela’s House

    Members of Girl Scout Troop 85 in the Elwood School District made Angela’s House the recipient of their Bronze Award efforts

  • March 31st, 2016 by Bob

    Angela’s House 2016 Spring Gala

    ~     Angela’s House Spring Gala    ~

     Angela’s House  hosting their 10 Annual Spring Gala at Watermill Caterers in Smithtown, NY on Thursday, March 31st, 2016.

    We had an evening of fun and celebration!  The event started at 7pm with a cocktail hour, followed by a seated dinner and a brief awards ceremony. This year’s honoree is JVC Broadcasting, who operates four radio stations in the Nassau, Suffolk Long Island market. JVC Broadcasting has hosted an annual Radio-thon benefitting Angela’s House for half a decade on My Country 96.1FM and this year they also featured Angela’s House on their Long Island News Radio Station 103.9FM. JVC also includes the non-profit in their summer concert series at the Pennysaver Amphitheatre, of which they are the operator.

    We had over  250 guests

    Friends Sponsor Board

    participate in an amazing Silent Auction as well as purchase raffle tickets to enter to win upwards of 100 different Chinese auction prizes!

  • March 8th, 2016 by Bob

    Motomo Nation helps Angela’s House

     

    Gentlemen from Motomo Nation donated their time to beautify our backyard at Angela’s House III

     

  • January 20th, 2016 by Bob

    Signature Properties donates to Angela’s House

     

    Signature Properties donated breakfast and baskets for
    Angela’s House III

  • January 1st, 2016 by Bob

    Polar Plunge for Angela’s House

    Stony Brook Nurses hosted a New Year’s Day Polar Plunge

    Check presentation from the  New Year’s Day Polar Plunge

  • December 15th, 2015 by Bob

    My Country Cares 96.1 FM for Angela’s House radio-thon

    My Country Cares 96.1 FM  helds its 5th annual radio- thon for Angela’s House

    Steven Matz from the New York Mets with Kim

    DJ Powers and Phathead