Strawberry’s and Douglaston Chamber prepare for Community Day

Only one year has passed since Mets legend Darryl Strawberry, opened the award winning Strawberry’s Sports Grill, but they have already hit a homerun in the Douglaston community.
In conjunction with their one-year anniversary, Strawberry’s – with the help of the Douglaston Chamber of Commerce – has announced the first annual Douglaston Community Day to be held on August 13. All proceeds collected from the day full of family fun will go toward the Darryl Strawberry Foundation in the fight against autism, local charities and the Douglaston Little League. Stanley Meytin, director of marketing for Strawberry’s, says that when he approached the Douglaston Chamber of Commerce about the idea, they were all for it.
“We wanted to do something interesting and exciting for the community,” said Meytin. “We are accepting all types of donations from monetary to gift cards, to merchandise. There are many ways to get involved.”
Event goers can expect multiple raffles, ticket giveaways, signed baseballs and t-shirts, a bouncing castle for kids and much more. Modell’s Sporting Goods is sponsoring batting cages and a dunk tank that will most likely inhabit former Mets players or prominent members of the Queens community. According to Dorothy Matinale, president of the Douglaston Chamber of Commerce, Community Day will be a great opportunity for local businesses and residents to get involved in their neighborhood.
“We are trying to get as much sponsorship and participation as possible,” said Matinale, who said local churches have already donated parking availability to residents. “We hope this will be an annual event for many years to come.”
Strawberry’s and the Douglaston Chamber of Commerce are currently accepting all donations and sponsorship opportunities for local businesses. The easiest way to get involved with the planning would be to contact Stanley Meytin at Stanley@strawberrsgrill.com or 718-517-8787 or to contact Dorothy Matinale at Dorothy@stationrealty.com or 718-279-4800. A list of donor will also be printed in a follow-up story for The Queens Courier.
For Meytin, the community day is the culmination of what he calls a very successful year.
“We are looking forward to the future,” said Meytin who pointed to their star studded grand opening and the Jets playoff push as his favorite moments thus far. “We made a big splash in the community and participated in a lot of events. We won Best Entrée in Queens for our Chili. We want to get more and more people here to experience it.”
To view a list of acceptable donations, visit www.douglastonvillagechamberofcommerce.org or www.strawberrysgrill.com.