The Detective Jonathan Diller Scholarship Fund, established in the memory of the late NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller will hold its inaugural kick-off fundraising event at Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall in Wantagh (3232 Railroad Ave, Wantagh, NY) on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, from 6:30pm through 10:30pm.
The fund has set a goal of raising $100,000. The proceeds raised from the event will directly fund annual scholarships for tuition for Junior or Senior students at St. Mary’s Highs School in Manhasset, NY. NYPD Detective Diller lost his life in the line of duty earlier this year on March 25, when he was murdered during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The event will feature a tribute to Detective Diller, food, drinks, raffle prizes, and entertainment. Anyone can be a sponsor. So far, the fund has received generous monetary donations, sponsorships and donations of raffle prizes from local businesses throughout Long Island and is still accepting more.
Raffle prizes will include gift certificates and other prizes from Bluebird Kitchen, Matteo's, Danny's Chinese, GSB Music Festival, 7 Beach Lane, Kwong Ming, Saltano's, N Fork Donut Co, The Good Life, Dark Horse, Tap Room, American Beauty, Vin's Bake House, Carvel, Bacaro, Zona Restaurant, Umberto's, Gino's Tuscany, Smoking Al's, Tavlin Market, Rejuvenate Spa, Patrizia's, Vincent's Steak House, Mercato Grill, Anthony's Kitchen, Laser Plus, Voodoo Crab, Calda, All American Burger, Taco Joe's and VIP tickets to the Billy Joel Exhibit at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Admission to the fundraiser event is $65. Tickets can be purchased on MULS.com by clicking on the link for the event https://muls.com/event/det-jonathan-diller-scholarship-fundraiser
For people that can’t attend the event but still want to support the scholarship fund, public donations are being accepted. Organizers say every donation is appreciated, big or small $5, $10, $50. For more information, to support this effort or to donate, please call 516-409-1800 or click on https://tinyurl.com/DillerScholarshipFund
The fund was organized and established by Larry Weinberger, President of MGD Investments who gathered supporters and sponsors.
“Detective Diller’s dedication to police work, and his love of being a police officer, was apparent to all who knew him,” Weinberger said. “This fund will create a never-ending legacy for Detective Diller as every year the high school Jonathan attended, St. Mary’s, will select a student(s) in need of support pursuing their education and career goals.”
Jonathan Diller’s wife Stephanie supports the effort and spoke about what St. Mary’s meant to him and her hopes for this scholarship to give students the opportunity to follow in her husband’s footsteps.
“Jonathan always talked so fondly about his time there and he always was involved in sports and was very active and that’s what made him into the person he was,” said Stephanie. “I want the scholarship to go to someone who is just like Jonathan and to have that experience and to continue for people to become like him… We need more of Jonathan in the world.”
The fund has gained strong community support from across the region from New York City to Suffolk County including the New York Police Department (NYPD), Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), and Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) and the Town of Oyster Bay. Additional sponsors and supporters include Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall, MGD Investments, Dream Studios and the EGC Group.
St. Mary’s High School has established a featured webpage for the scholarship which outlines the details and allows for donations. For more information about the scholarship or to donate, please visit https://tinyurl.com/DillerScholarshipFund.
