Variety Boys And Girls Club Of Queens Honors Brucculeri

Theresa Brucculeri, vice president of the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island.

Theresa Brucculeri, Ronald McDonald House of Long Island Board of Directors vice president, is a dedicated and compassionate individual with a long history of charitable work in helping children at the House. To recognize her tremendous efforts in helping youngsters of all ages, Brucculeri is being honored at an awards dinner by the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens in Astoria, coordinated by Gus Antonopoulos and the Boys and Girls Club. The dinner will be held at Cavo Restaurant in Astoria on October 15 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Brucculeri, who is a resident of Bayside, has been an integral part of the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island for more than 20 years, serving on the Board of Directors for the last nine, two as president and in her present capacity as vice president.

When Brucculeri first learned about the plans for building the Long Island Ronald McDonald House in the early 1980s, the idea of a House, a home-awayfrom home where families could stay while their children were being treated for medical illnesses, seemed like a wonderful concept. The next year and for the next 22 years, she became a House "champion" by organizing an annual fundraising event that raised thousands of dollars to help the families and children at the House. In 1984, the first year that she organized the holiday fundraiser, "Friends and Family", it generated $15,000 in 1984 and has since generated more than $800,000 for the House.

A lifelong resident of Queens, Brucculeri's childhood was enriched by friends and family. Her deep concern for young children in need was ingrained even at a young age. At the age of nine, she was so touched by the work of the national charity, "Save the Children", that she asked her parents to give part of her allowance to the organization. Since then, she has devoted more than half her life to volunteering to ensure children in need are helped.

She has been married to Jack Brucculeri for the past 31 years and has two daughters and three grandchildren. When she is not volunteering or serving on the Board, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her daughters and grandchildren.

The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island is a 'home-away-from home' for families of children who are undergoing medical treatment in area hospitals. Since 1986, the House has served more than 21,000 residents caring for over 10,000 seriously ill children. Many of the families come from Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties; as well as the metropolitan New York area, the nation and more than 80 countries around the world.