STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 What began as a promise after unimaginable loss has grown into a Staten Island holiday tradition. <\/p>\n
\u201cLights for Life,\u201d a dazzling Christmas display staged at the Charleston home of Joseph and Marisa DiMartino, is a tradition that continues to shine nearly 25 years later.<\/p>\n
The holiday project was created in memory of Joseph\u2019s late wife, Debra Ann \u2014 who was lost in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center while working on the 89th floor of the South Tower.<\/p>\n
Left a widower with two young daughters, DiMartino sought to find light after one of the darkest days in the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
The DiMartino family recently presented a $91,554 donation to the Brian Halpin Pediatric Cancer Center at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), marking their most successful fundraising year to date. <\/p>\n
The total includes a $7,500 contribution from Island Auto Group, donated by Marcello Sciarrino and Michael Bobson. Their continued support has helped the initiative grow year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, this was a very special day,\u201d said DiMartino. \u201cEach and every year we try to raise more than the year before, and even with the cold weather and snow this season, we beat last year\u2019s record. That makes me very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, as in past years, community members sponsored displays that fill every inch of the DiMartino property with animatronic scenes,\u201d noted Jamie Lynn Homan, senior Major Gifts Officer at Staten Island University Hospital,<\/p>\n
Sponsors included R. Nuzzolo Electric, the Joseph Maffeo Foundation, EG Healthcare, Scaran, SIUH Service Auxiliary, Vincent Gruppuso Foundation, Christopher & Michael Canale Smashing Children\u2019s Cancer Forever (Wired Delivery Service LLC), Emma & Dr. Brahim Ardolic, Damascus Bakery, and John & Rosemarie Barbieri.<\/p>\n
Despite several snow days and weeks of frigid temperatures, thousands of visitors continued to show up with many making donations that added up to the record-breaking achievement. <\/p>\n
For DiMartino, that community commitment is what makes the experience so meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very heartwarming,\u201d said DiMartino. \u201cPeople get out of their cars, they come, they donate what they can, and at the end of the season, it all adds up. Knowing they\u2019re helping sick children at the same time gives me an incredible sense of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
What began as a modest effort raising just $1,600 has since grown into one of Staten Island\u2019s most impactful grassroots fundraisers. <\/p>\n
With this year\u2019s donation, the DiMartino family has now raised more than $600,000 for pediatric cancer care.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this so remarkable is that it all started with one simple decision to give back,\u201d said Homan. \u201cJoe and Marisa do this purely out of kindness, and that choice has created an impact far bigger than any one season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the numbers, \u201cLights for Life\u201d has become a true multigenerational tradition. <\/p>\n
DiMartino often sees families who once visited as children now returning with children of their own. Some even travel from New Jersey and Brooklyn to experience the display.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s become a family tradition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As the DiMartino family looks ahead, the upcoming holiday season will mark the 25th anniversary of \u201cLights for Life.\u201d – a milestone DiMartino says will call for something \u201cbigger and better\u201d than ever before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly what it\u2019s going to be yet,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cBut whatever it is, it will be massive, and it will honor the promise I made to Debra.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 What began as a promise after unimaginable loss has grown into a Staten Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-127711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}