The formation of the Eric Breslau Blessed by E Foundation is one family's story of taking the pain associated with the tragic passing of one of their beloved members and turning it into a source for positivity and support for their local community.
Massapequa resident Lew Breslau, owner of five Crunch Fitness health club franchises throughout Long Island, is the Founder and Board Member of the Eric Breslau Blessed by E Foundation, an organization created to celebrate the life of his late son and to carry out good deeds in his memory.
“This all began with my son Eric dying of fentanyl poisoning four-and-a-half years ago,” he said. “He took a pill that he thought was an oxycontin and it turned out to be 100 percent fentanyl...it killed him in his sleep that night.”
Lew recalled his son – known to friends and family as "E" and "E-man," a Crunch Fitness manager who lost his life at the age of only 25 – as a kind young man who was fiercely loyal to his family and friends.
“He was a loving uncle, a godfather to his first nephew, an avid skateboarder, and a wrestler at Massapequa High School,” he said. “He was the kindest soul. So many people came out to his funeral...people we didn’t know came up to us and said that Eric had knocked on their door and welcomed them to the neighborhood. That's just the kind of person Eric was.”
After Eric’s sudden and unexpected passing, the family initially needed to take time to grieve and make sense of the tragedy. However, as time went on, Lew noted that they felt a growing need to create a positive legacy in Eric's name. That began with the formation of a foundation that, at first, concentrated mainly on doing good deeds for random people that Lew and his wife Valerie encountered in their day-to-day lives.
“It started as a small Instagram group, called ‘Blessed by E.’ We made up ‘Blessed by E’ business cards that we would hand out and we would go to different places and just do small things for people,” he said. “Valerie and I and Eric’s brothers – Justin, Alex, and Sean – as well as our extended family would pay for people's meals at restaurants, give little random blessings to people, such as waiters and waitresses, things like that. It was our small way of trying to give back.”
“We’re a little stronger a few years later, and we’re making the foundation bigger to touch more people,” Lew continued. “We especially want to fund organizations that helped us as grieving parents. The whole family and many of our friends are involved, and we created a not-for-profit to that end.”
After the success of the first inaugural event of the Eric Breslau Blessed by E Foundation last year, the second is taking place this upcoming Thursday, July 11th at the Crunch Fitness locations owned by the Breslau family, and will take the form of an all-day fundraising event where the proceeds of all sales – merchandise, gym memberships, guest passes, and donations – will go directly to the foundation's mission.
“Last year we donated the proceeds to The Compassionate Friends, Grief Relief After Substance Passing (GRASP), and Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPSHope),” Lew noted. “This year we will also be donating to various local and national foundations dedicated to fentanyl awareness campaigns to save the lives of our youth and young adults being murdered daily by fentanyl poisoning.”
“The Compassionate Friends is a national group whose Rockville Centre chapter was really amazing to us. We went to their meetings and we were loved and supported by other grieving parents. It was a major source of comfort for us and the only thing that kept us alive,” he continued. “GRASP is another beautiful national organization to help grieving parents, and their local chapter is in Massapequa. And GPS Hope, we've done a great deal with that organization already in the form of donations and such.”
At the Blessed by E event at the Crunch Fitness locations this year, there will be “Spinathons," “Zumbathons” and strength competitions going on at all five locations at different times (specific times can be found on their website, see links below). Guests can offer donations to participate (call participating locations for details), as well as participate in raffles auctioning off Crunch Fitness memberships and personal training packages, as well as merchandise generously donated by numerous local businesses.
The Crunch Fitness locations that will be hosting the Blessed by E fundraising event on July 11th – which will be an annual tradition going forward – include Amityville, Bellmore, East Meadow, Hauppauge, and West Babylon.
Lew's sister-in-law, Susan Goldstein – Director of Operations for Crunch Fitness' Long Island locations and Eric's aunt – said that she got to hear many loving third-person accounts of the stature of Eric's character from Crunch employees since his passing.
“The two things I always heard is how contagious Eric's laugh was, and how he always liked to have fun and be silly,” she said. “He also would do anything for anybody that he thought needed anything. He was always like that for family, but he was also like that for employees and even gym members...he was always the first person to step up and see what someone needed.”
Expanding the Blessed by E Foundation, Lew said, is a way for his family to do more to support these selfless organizations so that grieving parents and others can find a sense of peace, support, and solace after the passing of a loved one.
“We're hoping as time goes by we will be able to evolve even more and be able to offer scholarships and even larger donations to more groups,” Lew said. “We especially want to support other groups that educate parents on the dangers of fentanyl, as there are too many kids out there dying as a one and done case. They make a stupid decision and try a pill and they die. One and done. It's a disaster and a plague in our country.”
Despite the fact that the loss of his son was a heart-wrenching experience for he and his wife, Lew said that every parent's fear – outliving their child – had to be made to serve a purpose, one that the Blessed by E Foundation will strive to uphold every single day going forward.
“You question as a parent sometimes, ‘why am I still alive when my child is not?’ Well, I'm here for a reason. Even before Eric passed away, my wife Valerie and I were always looking for ways to bless people. So what's better than to bless people in Eric's name?” he said. “We're always looking for ways to do that, and we started small but we're looking to grow so we can touch more lives. The only thing that could bring us real joy right now is to help others.”