Melville, NY - December 8, 2015 - The recent Long Island Fight for Charity, one of Long Island’s largest and most anticipated annual charity fund raising and networking events broke previous attendance numbers and raised over $250,000 for Long Island – based charities at the 12th Main Event on November 23. The event card featured 13 bouts, the highest number ever in the history of the organization, with 26 local business professionals going toe-to-toe in the boxing ring to the cheers of a sold-out crowd. There is no other charity event like this anywhere in the country.
Boxers went through rigourous training to improve their physical stamina.
Over 1,200 fans packed the ballroom at the Long Island Hilton to network and enjoy a tasting reception of food and beverages generously donated by over 35 local restaurants and wine and spirits companies. Over the past several months the boxers raised hundreds of thousands of dollars by hosting individual and team fund raisers across Long Island. The boxers prepped for their bouts by training at least twice a week to start, ramping up to more frequent and even daily workouts in the final weeks leading up to the Main Event. While undergoing rigorous training the boxers improved their physical stamina and, in total, lost hundreds of pounds.
“We had a remarkable group of dedicated volunteer boxers this year. They showed tremendous character and determination as they trained and raised funds for Long Islanders in need. Rick Iaccarino of Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP broke the FFC’s individual fund raising record by bringing in more than $135,000,” said co-founder Jamie Austin.
Long Island Fight for Charity will be donating funds to Long Island Community Chest, The Genesis School, the National Foundation for Human Potential, ROHHAD Fight Inc. and several other local charities. This year alone, Long Island Fight for Charity raised over $250,000, pushing the total amount raised since 2003 to well over $1 million for the benefit of Long Island charities.
To view photos from the 12th Main Event visit here
2015 Fight for Charity bouts included:
- Ian “Lucky Charms” Murphy of Garden City and a Sales Consultant at Trinet in Melville vs. Luis “Wild Card” Batres of Franklin Square and an Audit Associate at PricewaterhouseCooper LLP in Melville
- Susan “Super Sue” Vaughan of Locust Valley and Direct Marketing Manager at Lufthansa German Airlines in East Meadow vs. Joanne “The Tigress” Hutchins of Oyster Bay, founder of Moms Who Kick, a charity benefiting breast cancer research
- Peter “The Kings Park Krusher” Stein of Kings Park and Marketing Sales Executive vs. Dr. John “The Blood Pressure” Boccio of Plainview and a Family Practice Physician at Bethpage Primary Medical Care in Bethpage
- Vincent “Stringbean” Accardi of Lake Grove and Director of Corporate Partnerships at Stony Brook University Athletics vs. Ernest “The Gentleman” Fair of East Northport, a mobile specialist with Huntington-based Super Dent
- Dr. Ron “The Mazzacutioner” Mazza of Northport and Chiropractor at Synergy Multicare Professionals in Westbury vs. Sinai “The Mountain” Megibow of Commack and Investigative Counsel, Private Investigator, Founding Partner of Radius in Melville
- Cathleen “The Rock” Healey-Frosina of Garden City and Chief Financial Officer at Jonis Realty/Citi-Urban Management Corporation in Great Neck vs. Jamie “The Trainer” O’Mara of Huntington and a Personal Trainer and Suffolk County Police Department Crossing Guard
- Rick “Union Made” Iaccarino of Dix Hills and Founding and Managing Partner of Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP vs. Andrew “Timeless Classic” Nerone of Syosset and a US Managing Director at Paladin Solutions Group in Syosset
- Chuck “The Bulldog” Campagna of Huntington Station and Logistics/Operations Director at Napco Security Technologies in Amityville vs. Tito “T-Bone” Flores of Huntington Station, a partner in the professional video production company, The OM Group, based in East Northport
- Paul “The Better Chip” Bartoszewski of East Northport and Senior Operations Analyst at Sugar Foods Corporation in New York vs. Brendan “The Showstopper” Sweeney of East Islip Major Accounts & Wide Format Specialist at Doctor Print in Hauppauge
- Craig “The Machine” Simon of Dix Hills and Senior Managing Director at Crystal & Company in New York vs. Michael “Machine Gun Mike” Graziose of Locust Valley and Vice President at Graziose Plumbing and Heating, Inc., and The Valley Fireplace in Locust Valley
- Laurette “The Warrior” Holst of Lindenhurst and General Manager at UFC Gym in Huntington vs. Lisa “The Diva” Mongelluzzo of Huntington and a Retail Manager at Victoria Secret in Huntington
- Matthew “El Fuego” Galiano of Mineola and Co-Owner of CTO – TCI Technologies in Mineola vs. Filippo “Triple F” Impennato of Franklin Square and Director of Business Development at Fat Guy Media Group in Mineola
- Michael “The Litigator” Romano of Franklin Square and Attorney at Romano & Associates in Garden City vs Opponent
“To see the boxers train for months and selflessly give their time to raise funds to help us reach our goal is awe-inspiring. Just their dedication of time to the training process for this event speaks volumes about them. In the end, the real heroes are the boxers and what they have accomplished,” said Co-founder Jeff Cohen.
Local businesses and professional firms sponsoring this year’s 12th Main Event include: Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP; Alure Home Improvements; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Fat Guy Media; Farrell Fritz; Saxena White P.A.; Local 1298; AmWins Brokerage of NJ; Crystal & Company; RedTree Radiology; Local 60; Local342, UMD, ILA; Carter, Deluca, Farrell & Schmidt LLP; Excavators Union Local 731; St. Hugh-St. Elizabeth Baseball League, Inc.; Local 223; Jonis Realty; UPS Foundation Inc.; Francesco’s Bakery and L. Graziose Plumbing & Heating.
For more information about this event and to volunteer as a boxer for the 13th Long Island Fight for Charity scheduled for Monday, November 20, 2016 go to www.lifightforcharity.org