Long Island Pizza Strong Co-Founder Alyssa Guidice Puts Her Fundraising Power Behind Campaign at Vincent’s Clam Bar to Support Blood Cancer Charity
The Italian seafood restaurant Vincent’s Clam Bar in Carle Place is hosting a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on behalf of Alyssa Guidice, the charity’s candidate for visionaries of the year. Guidice, who is known to Long Island foodies as the administrator of Dine-LI and one of the co-founders of Long Island Pizza Strong, is also raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, one of the biggest charities dedicated to eradicating blood cancer through research, providing education and support for families and the medical community, and government advocacy on the state and federal level.
It’s hard for Guidice to say no to helping out those in need. While she said she doesn’t have a personal connection to the disease that the charity supports, she has friends who work for the Long Island chapter. They called upon her to become a visionaries of the year candidate to harness the power of her network to do good.
“Two of my friends are on the board of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Long Island and reached out to me about this fundraiser,” she told LongIslandRestaurants.com in an interview recently. “I didn’t know much about it until I had a meeting with them and the fundraising campaign manager, Stephanie. From listening to Stephanie explain more, I was very inspired to join in on this cause and help them as much as I can.”
A visionary of the year is essentially a campaign where the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society calls upon people to help fundraise. The person who raises the most money gets the title.
“Candidates will continue to form powerful fundraising teams and compete in honor of two local blood cancer survivors,” explained Guidice. “The individual who has raised the most funds during the ten-week campaign is awarded the prestigious title of ‘Visionary of the Year’ in their community.”
For this particular fundraiser at Vincent’s Clam Bar, the restaurant has pledged $5 from every family meal purchased on Wednesday, May 1st to go toward Guidice’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s visionaries of the year campaign. The meal feeds a family of four. More details about the fundraiser can be found here.
Danny Pepi, general manager of Vincent’s Clam Bar, told LongIslandRestaurants.com that when Guidice came to them about the charity he did not hesitate to get on board.
“When it comes to fighting for a cause, she’s the real deal,” he said. “She is an incredible human being in our minds.”
Back when the pandemic first hit, Pepi said that Guidice was one of the first in the food service industry to jump into action.
“The rest of us were worried about cleaning off our groceries, she went into attack mode,” he said. “She recognized that first responders were suffering and she was the first person to get behind them.”
This left a lasting impression on Pepi.
“I’ve been in her camp ever since,” he said.
Pepi’s father passed away from cancer so like many, he has a personal connection to the cause.
“We will do everything in our power to fight it,” he said.
Guidice agreed that the fight was important.
“Everyone knows someone or has personally been affected by cancer in some way or another,” she said. “It’s very important for the community to band together and fight for a cause like this because this is a terrible, terrible disease and no one deserves to lose someone to it.”
The money she raises will go toward research, to find answers, and hopefully some cures.
“We all need to pitch in and help with the fight,” she said. “Becoming visionary of the year means that I am able to create a very small difference in a very big fight.”
On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Vincent’s Clam Bar will donate $5 from every one of their popular family meal packages to Alyssa Guidice’s visionaries of the year campaign in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click here to get more information about the fundraiser.
