Listen to this articleAdventureland in Farmingdale is hosting its annual VIP event Friday evening for its Helping Hands Foundation.
The not-for-profit organization was set up in 2013 by members of the Gentile family, which own and operate Adventureland.
The annual event raises funds to support the foundation and its community-based charitable activities while providing families with unlimited rides, food, fun and entertainment from 6-10 p.m.
Individual tickets for the VIP Night are $175, and corporate packages of 15 or 30 tickets are also available.
“Our VIP Night is a perfect opportunity for businesses to reward employees and their families at Long Island’s historic amusement park while supporting and celebrating the work of the Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation,” Steve Gentile, president of Adventureland, said in a news release about the fundraiser.
This year the Helping Hands Foundation will award 12 Vivian and Tony Gentile Scholarships of $5,000 each to Long Island high school students to be presented at the VIP Night. Five scholarships are for students who will attend college on Long Island and five are for Adventureland employees currently in college. Three additional scholarships are provided in coordination with the Sachem Dental Group, Island Harvest and Breakthrough T1D (formally JDRF). The foundation has provided more than $330,000 in scholarships since its inception.
At VIP Night, Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation will also present Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism with a $50,000 pledge to support its work and the programming it provides to families in the autism community.
Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation makes annual donations to Island Harvest and the Town of Babylon Food Pantry, the Town of Babylon’s Christmas Angels Program and the Town of Oyster Bay’s Toys for Tots Drive. The foundation also conducts a school supply drive supporting Long Island Teachers.
“Adventureland is part of Long Island’s history, our legacy is making family memories for generations of our fellow Long Islanders and we are proud to give back to the community through the work of our Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation,” Gentile said.
According to Gentile, the organization has provided more than $1 million in donations and scholarships since its founding 11 years ago.