Will Recognize Community Activists
The Sunnyside Woodside Boys & Girls Club is holding its Second Annual Recognizing Leaders Fundraiser on May 19 to help raise funds for its youth programs, as well as to pay tribute to the area’s leaders who continue to give their time to improve the district.
“Leaders span several generations in Woodside and Sunnyside, and we must recognize them,” said Vincent Renda, the chairman of the Sunnyside Woodside Boys & Girls Club. “We will be honoring four women who have been great role models for our youth, and our task is to pass the torch from them to create the next generation of heroes and leaders.”
The Sunnyside Woodside Boys & Girls Club aims to roll out a series of after-school programs and to ultimately build a clubhouse. The club, established in 2010, has already started a Friday night recreation program at St Teresa’s gymnasium for 11- to 14-year-olds, and a dancing/ acting program at Sunnyside Reformed Church on Saturdays.
Last year, the club also paid the way for a number of children to attend the summer camp at the Variety Boys & Girls Club in Astoria.
The four leaders the club will be honoring are:
– Gertrude McDonald, 95, who went to school in Sunnyside, was the first woman in Queens County to run for an elected position as a Democrat. While she lost the 1968 race, she opened the door for other women to run and ultimately win.
– Frances Schmidt is a member of the Sunnyside Woodside Lions Club, Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce and SunnysideArtists.org. Schmidt is also a member of the Republican Party in District 37. Additionally, she is an active member of Queen of Angels Church, where she is a Eucharistic Minister.
– Sr. Maureen Ahlemeyer has taught local children at St Raphael School since September 1977. In 1987 she was appointed as its school principal, where she has served in that role ever since. She also started the children’s choir.
– Carol Masiello has worked as a substance abuse counselor at I.S. 125 in Woodside since 1977. She is the current president of the Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside, where she has established the first community-based Key Club, which provides local high school students with the ability to fulfill their high-school community service hours. She is a board member of the Sunnyside Boys & Girls Club.
The fundraiser will take place on May 19 from 7 to 11 p.m. at St. Raphael’s School Gymnasium, located at 48-25 37th St. in Long Island City. Tickets are $60 per person; $100 per couple.
For additional information, call 1-917-670-5666.
