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Volunteer Spotlights

June Cardenas

By General Needs | Published December 29, 2020
June is a member of the Ronkonkoma Rotary and has been a volunteer for General Needs for the past three years. She decided to volunteer for General Needs after hearing Lonnie and Susan speak at one of the Ronkonkoma Rotary meetings. “I was so touched and taken back by their sincerity. They spoke so well and with such compassion… General Needs’ motto is ‘Serving Veterans with Dignity,’ which is exactly what they are doing. Her volunteer work involves unpacking and delivering brand new sneakers to the vets every Wednesday. She also regularly goes to the General Needs warehouse, where she helps sort out all of the clothes and supplies that are going to be given to the vets. Continue Reading

 

Maryann DeSimone

By General Needs | Published December 15, 2020

Maryann is the owner of Interthread Embroidery and is a long-time volunteer for General Needs. Her role at General Needs is pretty simple: pack and unpack clothes at distribution and storage sites. However, her impact on the lives of homeless veterans is immense. When she moved to Huntington years ago, she made a promise to herself that she would volunteer somewhere within her community. She has been with several other charities, but something about Lonnie and Susan’s organization stood out to her, and so she picked General Needs. Maryann happens to have two daughters who are in the Marines, so General Needs hits very close to her heart. “To think that these men and women go and serve our country and then come back with nothing is something I do not think is right. What Lonnie and Sue do is incredible. Giving our vets everything brand new is incredible.”

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Glenn Fitze

By General Needs | Published November 17, 2020

Glenn Fitze is a teacher at Commack High School in Commack, New York. He started a work-based learning program for special needs students around 20 years ago, where he has collaborated with over a dozen organizations around his community to help his students gain valuable volunteering experience and work-based skills. He discussed the program with Lonnie four years ago, and has since been working with General Needs. Working with General Needs hits close to his heart because his father was a World War II veteran, which allows him to relate to the veterans. “We owe our veterans a lot. They serve us. Seeing them homeless and struggling to get back on their feet actually makes me sad… What General Needs is doing is incredible. The time and effort that everyone puts in is very inspiring. General Needs gives these vets something new and helps them get back on their feet again. I cannot think of a better cause.”

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Joseph Limongelli

By General Needs | Published October 20, 2020
Joseph is the President of NRL Wealth Creation Strategies, LLC in Roslyn, New York. He likes to spend his spare time volunteering around his area. The group that has the biggest impact on him is General Needs because he believes he has a responsibility to help out homeless veterans who have made tremendous sacrifices for others. His volunteer experience with General Needs started off simple, supplying food, clothes, and gifts for veterans, but over time his role grew and he became an important contributor to General Needs’ cause. He decided to join the organization’s efforts solely because of Lonnie. Joseph met Lonnie in the insurance industry 36 years ago, and at the time Lonnie was dreaming about starting up an organization that would help homeless veterans in need. The beginning stages of Lonnie’s vision focused primary on local areas for veterans. Soon after, he organized the actual General Needs organization, expanding to Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Manhattan, with the encouragement and help of Joseph.

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Arnold Quaranta

By General Needs | Published October 6, 2020

Arnold is the District Trainer and former District Governor of Rotary District 7260. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he volunteered for General Needs, where he would pick up meals every Friday from Ronkonkoma and deliver them to two different veteran shelters in Bayshore. When asked why he chose to volunteer for General Needs, he said, “I have been involved with Lonnie and Sue when they first came into Rotary around six years ago. After watching them go to different homeless shelters and supply veterans with clothing and food, I realized that General Needs was something I was interested in getting involved with.”

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Kathy Gibson

By General Needs | Published August 25, 2020

Kathy Gibson has been with Rotary since 1991, and has served as the governor of their district in 2003 and 2004. Kathy has had a very positive experience working with General Needs, and is very happy to be able to work with Lonnie and his team. She has helped in distributions and enjoys working with the veterans. We asked her why she continues to work with General Needs: “The sincerity of the group. This is my small opportunity to pay back and it is a pleasure working with them. It is amazing work they are doing.”

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Robbie Donno

By General Needs | Published August 16, 2020

Robbie pictured on the right, with Kevin Rodriguez, left who is the house manager of the Patriot’s First House in Newark, NJ

Today we are shining a light on Robbie Donno. Robbie is currently the President of the Manhasset Rotary Club. In 2010-11 he served as District Governor for Rotary District 7250 which then consisted of all Rotary clubs in Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County. He is also one of the founders of Gift of Life International, which is a Rotarian based program that provides lifesaving heart procedures for children all over the world. Although Robbie’s main focus is Gift of Life, through Rotary he became aware of the needs of Veterans. He wanted to expand the role of Rotary in support of Veterans when he was District Governor in 2010-11. He has always wanted to be involved in helping veterans. Through Lonnie, President of General Needs, Robbie now volunteers once a week, bringing food from a local Italian Restaurant to the Patriot’s First House in Newark. The Patriot’s First House houses 30 homeless veterans who are from all over the country.

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Veteran R.Z.

By General Needs | Published August 4, 2020

Today we are shining a light on Veteran R.Z., a Vietnam veteran who was originally in a homeless shelter. He had a great experience with the General Needs team and decided to join them. He recalls a time in the shelter where General Needs brought big events with families, dinners and clothing. They created something that everyone was excited about and looked forward to. “I was SO impressed with the group of people that came, it was almost surreal that people had such compassion and outpouring of love. They made us very proud recipients. I found they were absolutely genuine and filled with happiness that they could help us.” Since then Veteran R.Z. has been trying to help raise money, create contacts, and help in donations and distributions. He has since found a nice place to work and would like to continue to be involved in General Needs in his life going forward. “General Needs is a stellar group of angels here on earth. There are not enough superlatives to describe them. Just the very best.”

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