Volunteer Spotlight
Why We Love Volunteering with General Needs
Maryann DeSimone
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.”
Her favorite memory with General Needs comes from when she was handing out boots to some veterans at the V.A. This one particular veteran was explaining to Maryann about how he had lost everything in his life. “When I handed him a brand new pair of boots that were his size, the vet was so grateful. I could feel the power of what that meant to him.”
Glenn Fitze
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.”
Glenn’s favorite memory with General Needs was spending time and sharing stories with the vets at one of the distribution events. For over two hours, he helped hand out supplies and clothes to the veterans and had dinner with them. “Sharing stories back and forth was very fun and interesting. It brought out a lot of smiles and laughter. I enjoyed every second of it.”
Laughter Saves Lives
John Larocchia
- Founder and President of the Laughter Saves Lives Foundation
Mattress Firm
Edgar Dominguez
- Commercial Sales Representative at Mattress Firm
Joseph Limongelli
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.
Joseph’s favorite memory with General Needs was actually the toughest one for him. He visited a veterans shelter in Queens and felt sad because of how the veterans were being treated. “The veterans were basically locked up in little cages because they are mentally shot. They have to be sedated.” He went with a dozen other men during the first trip to the shelter, where he handed the veterans socks, underwear, sleeping bags, and sneakers. For the second time around, 8 of the dozen guys did not come back because they could not take watching the veterans suffer. However, Joseph was able to develop great chemistry with the veterans after a couple of visits.
