Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton Joins with Kiwanis Club, Locust Valley and Sea Cliff FD Officials To Celebrate Donation Of Pediatric AED Kits

Photos by Peter M. Budraitis

A local community leader and philanthropist celebrated the season of giving by equipping local first responders with essential tools they can use to save lives all throughout the New Year.

On Friday, Dec. 23, Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) joined with John C. Lalena, member of the Kiwanis Club of Manhasset-Port Washington, Foundation President and Past Distinguished Lieutenant Governor; and officials from the Locust Valley and Sea Cliff Volunteer Fire Departments to celebrate the Club’s donation of a Pickering pediatric trauma AED kit to both departments.

These recent donations mark the continuation of a charitable tradition dating back to 1990. In the aftermath of the deadly crash of Avianca Flight 52 in Cove Neck, Mr. Lalena’s wife, Eleanor, organized friends through North Shore Hospital to raise funds for the purchase of pediatric AED kits for local agencies. After she passed away, John continued her admirable philanthropic endeavor.

“Thanks to tremendous support from the Kiwanis Club of Manhasset-Port Washington and the selfless efforts of Eleanor and John Lalena, more than 425 agencies across the United States have received life-saving AED kits through this initiative,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said. “We are all tremendously gratified for the Lalena family’s decades-long commitment to this tremendously important cause.”