QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – The Neponsit neighborhood of Rockaway illuminates the spirit of Christmas. It’s an annual event celebrating the holiday and encouraging charitable donations.
Joe Mure, who organizes the annual holiday celebration, proudly proclaims, “We raised close to $3 million since we started. We’re up to $200,000 this year. We leave a donation box outside the house, and everything we collect goes directly to foundation.”
Mure created this Christmas wonderland 30 years ago. He explains why.
“We have two reasons. One, to put a smile on every child’s face, and two, to help the children who need it.” Mure adds, “It makes me feel great when I come here and watch a kid look at the house and smile. I think it’s the most important thing we could do.”
When the sun dips, Joe turns his neighborhood into a magical wonder with colorful lights aglow all along the row of homes.
Mure notes, “It’s not easy to be the Santa Claus of the neighborhood, but it’s important. We need to do some good.”
Santa shows up, and Joe wastes no time inviting some kids for a little get-together in his basement.
A little girl jumps to see Santa, and lands on his lap: “Merry Christmas,” he exclaims, and hands her a gift.
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The joy in the basement is transformed into heartache upstairs, where a 6-year-old girl, a paraplegic, is in desperate need of help.
Dalaina Modica, Ali Rose’s mother, is teary-eyed as she explains, “This season has been the hardest season of our lives. Oh my god.
Dalaina Modica’s daughter, Ali Rose, developed flu-like symptoms two years ago. Days later, her condition worsened. She was rushed to the children’s hospital in Philadelphia.
Daliana says, “It’s every parent’s nightmare. They told us in ER that we should prepare for the worst, that she might not make it.”
At one point, the toddler was declared medically dead.
Her father, Joe Modica, explains, “She flatlined for 18 minutes. They got the pulse back quickly, and five days later her heart came back.”
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But the worst was far from over. Ali Rose had more problems: lung failure, liver failure, kidney failure, and heart failure. It’s been an agonizing two years. But hope has come in the form of costly stem cell therapy, which is not covered by insurance.
“We were told she wouldn’t survive,” her mother explains. “She did. We’re told her kidney is back to normal, and Ali’s heart is back to where it was. So I have faith Ali will make a full recovery.”
Joe Mure presents a $15,000 check from the Kiwanis Club and a $5,000 check from a neighbor to help with the stem cell treatments.
Ali’s father declares, “I’m going to do everything to get her back to recovery. Stem cell treatments should show a difference in her everyday life.”
“Christmas is a special time of year, a perfect time to give back in a most impactful way. Our prayer rests with 6-year-old Ali Rose for a much healthier future.”
Anyone who wishes to reach the Modica family can contact Joe Modica at dmodica29@gmail.com
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