In August 2024, the Long Island Fencers’ Club launched its Food/Hunger Ambassador Initiative as part of a broader commitment to Save Our Senior Citizens and support vulnerable members of the local community. The initiative was established to help address food insecurity by collecting essential food donations and directing assistance to individuals and organizations serving those in need.

Since the program’s inception, its ambassadors have demonstrated exceptional dedication, compassion, and commitment. By March 2026, their collective efforts resulted in the donation of an impressive 6,363 non-perishable food items. These contributions have provided meaningful assistance to individuals and families experiencing hardship and have strengthened the Club’s ongoing commitment to community service.

Donations collected through the initiative have supported a variety of individuals, families, and community organizations, including senior citizens experiencing food insecurity; a young man and his family following a devastating motor vehicle accident; Harborfields Alliance for Community Outreach (HACO); Old First Presbyterian Church in Huntington, New York; and Saint Gerard Majella Roman Catholic Church in Port Jefferson, New York.

The Long Island Fencers’ Club currently works in partnership with Long Island Cares, which serves as the primary recipient and distribution organization for donations collected through the program. This collaboration helps ensure that donated food and essential items are efficiently directed to individuals and families throughout the Long Island community who need them most.

Through the continued generosity of its students, families, ambassadors, and supporters, the Long Island Fencers’ Club remains committed to combating hunger, supporting senior citizens, and strengthening the communities it serves. The Food/Hunger Ambassador Initiative reflects the Club’s belief that meaningful community impact extends far beyond the fencing strip and that, through collective action and compassion, even a single contribution can help make a significant difference.

At the Long Island Fencers’ Club, we believe that a strong community is built through compassion, service, and a willingness to support one another. Through our “Let the Sunshine” Volunteer Initiative, including our ongoing food drives, community cleanups, and other service projects, we strive to make a meaningful and lasting difference throughout Long Island.

To everyone who has generously contributed, whether through donations of canned goods, nonperishable food, toiletries, essential supplies, or your valuable time. We extend our sincere and heartfelt gratitude. Your generosity directly supports individuals and families in need, with special attention given to the senior citizens within our community.

Every contribution represents far more than the item itself. It is an expression of kindness, compassion, hope, and a reminder that even a simple act of generosity can brighten someone’s day and strengthen the community we all share.

We are especially proud of our students, families, coaches, and supporters for embracing the spirit of service that defines this initiative. Your willingness to give, volunteer, and encourage others to participate demonstrates the extraordinary impact that can be achieved when people come together for a common purpose.

Through your actions, you truly become a “Beacon of Light” for others. Together, we will continue to “Let the Sunshine” by extending kindness, offering assistance, and creating opportunities to improve the lives of those around us.

With every thoughtful donation and every act of service, we help illuminate the path toward a stronger, more caring, and more connected community. Thank you for your generosity, your compassion, and your continued commitment to helping those who need it most.

Supporting Our Seniors

The Long Island Fencers’ Club has selected Long Island Cares Supporting Our Seniors (S.O.S.) as the primary recipient of our Senior Citizens Food Drive.

Long Island Cares is dedicated to bringing together available resources for the benefit of individuals and families experiencing hunger and food insecurity throughout Long Island. Its mission includes improving food security, supporting programs that help families work toward greater self-sufficiency, and educating the public about the causes and consequences of hunger within our communities.

An important part of these efforts is the Supporting Our Seniors (S.O.S.) Mobile Pantry, which provides monthly distributions of emergency food to senior community centers across Long Island. These food packages are designed to supplement seniors’ home pantries and monthly grocery needs, helping ensure that essential nutrition and assistance are available when they are needed most.

The Long Island Fencers’ Club is honored to support this important work and proud to stand alongside our students, families, and community partners in helping Long Island’s senior citizens.

With gratitude,

The Long Island Fencers’ Club

The Long Island Fencers' Club proudly extends its sincere appreciation and gratitude to Stop & Shop Supermarkets for its generosity, community leadership, and continued support in hosting our Senior Citizen Food Drives. Through its willingness to provide a welcoming location for our charitable initiatives, Stop & Shop has demonstrated a meaningful commitment to helping address food insecurity among Long Island's elderly population.

For more than a century, Stop & Shop has served communities throughout the Northeast, establishing itself as more than a neighborhood grocery store. Its longstanding commitment to hunger relief, charitable giving, and community partnerships reflects the importance of corporate citizenship and the positive impact businesses can have on the communities they serve.

Addressing Food Insecurity Among Long Island's Senior Citizens

Food insecurity remains a serious and often overlooked challenge for older adults throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Many senior citizens, particularly those living on fixed incomes, face increasingly difficult financial decisions as the costs of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and prescription medications continue to strain limited household budgets.

For some elderly residents, these financial pressures mean choosing between purchasing nutritious food and meeting other essential living expenses. Others experience physical limitations, transportation difficulties, social isolation, or medical conditions that further complicate their ability to obtain adequate nutrition.

No senior citizen who has spent a lifetime contributing to our families, neighborhoods, and communities should have to experience hunger or uncertainty about where their next meal will come from.

A Community Partnership That Makes a Difference

By welcoming the Long Island Fencers' Club's Senior Citizen Food Drives, Stop & Shop provides an important opportunity for customers, employees, club members, and local residents to participate directly in supporting our elderly neighbors.

These community-based food collection efforts encourage donations of nonperishable food items, raise public awareness of senior hunger, and demonstrate how partnerships between nonprofit organizations and local businesses can make a meaningful difference.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Long Island Fencers' Club believes that our responsibility extends well beyond teaching the Olympic sport of fencing. We strive to instill compassion, civic responsibility, volunteerism, and a lifelong commitment to community service among our student-athletes.

Our Senior Citizen Food Drives represent these values in action, bringing together individuals and families who share the belief that caring for vulnerable members of our community is a collective responsibility.

Our Sincere Appreciation to Stop & Shop

The Long Island Fencers' Club recognizes and thanks Stop & Shop's corporate leadership, local store management, dedicated associates, and generous customers for helping make these important charitable initiatives possible.

By opening its doors to our Senior Citizen Food Drives, Stop & Shop is helping us do more than collect food. It is helping us foster compassion, strengthen community relationships, raise awareness of senior hunger, and remind our elderly neighbors that they have not been forgotten.

We are honored to recognize Stop & Shop as a valued community partner and sincerely appreciate its support of our mission to combat food insecurity among Long Island's senior citizens.

Together, we can help ensure that our elderly neighbors receive not only the food they need, but also the dignity, compassion, and respect they deserve.

Island Harvest reports that more than 9,600 seniors on Long Island experience food insecurity. Long Island Cares also operates its Supporting Our Seniors program, providing emergency food assistance to older residents. Stop & Shop identifies hunger relief and food donations as important parts of its community-support efforts.

LONG ISLAND FENCERS' CLUB

Excellence in Fencing. Leadership Through Service. Compassion for Our Community.

Myles is a sixth-grade student at Jack Abrams Intermediate School with a passion for music, STEM, community service, and learning about the world around him.

An aspiring musician, Myles plays the piano, clarinet, and fife. During the 2026–2027 season, he is a member of the Nassau-Suffolk Youth Band East. His interest in science and technology is reflected in his participation on his school’s First LEGO League team, where he enjoys collaborating, problem-solving, and exploring new ideas.

Myles is also committed to giving back to his community. He volunteers with Friends of the Bay, participating in seasonal beach cleanups and helping to protect the local marine environment. He hopes to expand his community service efforts by organizing food drives and collecting donations for local food pantries, helping ensure that families and individuals in need have access to nutritious food.

Naturally curious, Myles enjoys learning new languages, exploring geography, and studying vexillology—the history and symbolism of flags. Outside of academics and music, he enjoys playing soccer and has been a member of the Long Island Fencers' Club since the age of six.

Through his interests in music, STEM, athletics, and service, Myles looks forward to continuing to learn, take on new challenges, and make a positive difference in his community.

The Long Island Fencers’ Club is pleased to announce Vivian Wu's selection as a “Let the Sunshine Food Drive Ambassador” of our Food Drive Challenge Initiative. Ambassador Wu is responsible for developing a strategic plan to help feed Long Island senior citizens in Long Island, New York, recruiting and directing volunteers, and coordinating food drives with local businesses and educational institutions. 

Acceptable donations include canned goods, nonperishable food items, and/or bathroom toiletries, including hotel sizes. 

Vivian Wu is a highly dedicated seventh-grade student who has consistently achieved Honor Roll status since sixth grade, reflecting her commitment to academic excellence. She is an accomplished violist in her school's Selected Orchestra, demonstrating notable musical proficiency. 

Beyond her educational and musical pursuits, Vivian Wu has participated in skiing since the age of four and anticipates each winter season with enthusiasm. Additionally, she began sailing at age eight with The Wet Pants Sailing Club in Sayville and has developed an interest in fencing through participation in the Long Island Fencers Club Summer Camp in 2025. 

Each summer, Vivian Wu operates a lemonade and bracelet stand, donating all proceeds to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, which illustrates her dedication to philanthropy. Her leadership qualities and community engagement make her a commendable representative of charitable endeavors.

The Long Island Fencers’ Club is pleased to announce the selection of Dylan Wong as a “Let the Sunshine Food Drive Ambassador” of our Food Drive Challenge Initiative. Ambassador Wong is responsible for developing a strategic plan to help feed Long Island senior citizens in Long Island, New York, recruiting and directing volunteers, and coordinating food drives with local businesses and educational institutions. 

Acceptable donations include canned goods, nonperishable food items, and/or bathroom toiletries, including hotel sizes.

Dylan’s other accomplishments include:

Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students, SUNY Old Westbury, 9th grade.

Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students, SUNY Old Westbury Research & Technology Program 10th grade.

Huntington Blue Devil Chamber Orchestra and Competitive Marching Band.

Huntington High School Science and English Honor Society.

Huntington High School Robotics Team, Key Club, and Stage Crew.

Dylan volunteers with the Friends of the Oyster Bay beach cleanup events and prepping the water testing bottles. Dylan also enjoys playing tennis and chess. 

The Long Island Fencers’ Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Madalynne Scanlon “Let the Sunshine Food Drive Ambassador” of our Food Drive Challenge Initiative. Ambassador Wong is responsible for developing a strategic plan to help feed Long Island senior citizens in Long Island, New York, recruiting and directing volunteers, and coordinating food drives with local businesses and educational institutions. 

Madalynne Scanlon is a dedicated and compassionate young athlete who understands the value of hard work, perseverance, and helping others. As an accomplished gymnast, she has learned that success comes from determination, resilience, and a willingness to keep going even when challenges arise. Madalynne is known for her kind heart, positive attitude, and genuine concern for those around her. She believes in the importance of giving back through active community service and strives to make a difference wherever she can. Through her actions, Madalynne demonstrates that true strength is measured not only by athletic achievement, but also by kindness, character, and a commitment to supporting others.

The Long Island Fencers’ Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Annabella Scanlon “Let the Sunshine Food Drive Ambassador” of our Food Drive Challenge Initiative. Ambassador Wong is responsible for developing a strategic plan to help feed Long Island senior citizens in Long Island, New York, recruiting and directing volunteers, and coordinating food drives with local businesses and educational institutions. 

Annabella Scanlon is a dedicated young fencer who believes in the power of kindness, perseverance, and community. Beyond fencing, she is an accomplished artist and ice skater who enjoys expressing her creativity both on and off the strip. Annabella is known for her patience, empathy, and unwavering support of others. She embraces people from all backgrounds, values friendship, and understands the importance of giving back through volunteerism and community involvement. Through her actions, she demonstrates that strength is not only found in competition, but also in compassion and helping others face life's challenges together.