LI firm raises $35K for local veterans

Rockville Centre-based Maple Family Centers has raised $35,000 for two organizations that serve local veterans. These proceeds were raised at its annual BVL [Bowlers to Veterans Link] Tournament of Champions.

The family-owned business, which operates five bowling centers, presented $25,000 to Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University and $10,000 to the Long Beach Waterfront Warriors.

“We are proud to raise funds to support BVL and to give back to veterans, who have given so much of themselves,” Joe LaSpina, vice president of Maple Family Centers, said in a statement. “With these most recent donations, we are happy to support two excellent programs that brighten the lives of so many veterans in our local community.”

The Long Island State Veterans Home is a 350-bed skilled nursing facility that also provides adult day healthcare and rehabilitation services for veterans and their families. The donation will be used toward technologies that provide therapeutic recreational experiences to brighten and enrich the lives of veterans. These include MyndVR, a 360-degree virtual reality experience that allows users to feel like they are doing anything from piloting a jet to walking the streets of Paris; and iN2L senior engagement technology, a user-friendly platform that connects users with content that interests them.

Long Beach Waterfront Warriors is a nonprofit organization in its 16^th year. Among other services, the nonprofit invites 30 to 40 wounded veterans and their families for a “Summer Visit,” which includes a weeklong stay at the luxury Allegria Hotel and at local private homes. With participation from the entire community and many local businesses, the veterans are honored and treated to restaurant meals, fishing charter outings, dinners on the beach, beach yoga and more.

The BVL Tournament of Champions is one of many events that Maple Family Centers holds throughout the year in support of BVL, a national charity focused on supporting recreational therapy programs and services to speed recuperation and boost morale to brighten the lives of America’s veterans and active-duty service men and women. BVL has raised more than $56 million for this cause since its 1942 inception, according to a news release about the recent tournament on Long Island.

Maple Family Centers, which has been owned by the LaSpina family since 1960, says it has donated more than $500,000 to BVL over the years to support veterans’ programs in the region.

“We are a Long Beach family – our family first bought a home there in 1924 – so we were especially proud to direct BVL to donate $10,000 of our contribution to the Long Beach Waterfront Warriors,” John LaSpina, president of Maple Family Centers, said in a statement. “This local, volunteer-driven organization does great work and brightens veterans’ lives every day, just like BVL does.”

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