Citarella raised $132,170.64 for the East Hampton Fund for Children this past summer through a campaign in which shoppers at its gourmet markets in East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Southampton were encouraged to donate to the fund or purchase tote bags at checkout.
The East End Fund for Children is a coalition of youth and family-focused nonprofits that includes the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, the Children's Museum of the East End, I-Tri, Project Most, the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, the Retreat, and the Southampton Youth Association. With some of the children who benefit from the fund on hand, representatives from each gathered at the Bridgehampton Citarella on Thursday along with the company's president, Helen Gurrera, and local elected officials to announce the results of the summer-long campaign and celebrate the staff that made it a success.
The East Hampton Citarella was the top earner for the fund, raising $42,880.11, and the Southampton store had the highest number of individual donations -- 21,859. Each store will get a pizza party. The East Hampton Citarella also sold the most tote bags -- 96. Across all three stores, Mayerly Quintero, a cashier in Southampton, secured the most donations -- 2,638. And Angelica Concepcion, a cashier in Bridgehampton, was the top-grossing cashier, bringing in $6,640.31 for the fund. Both of them got $100 gift cards.
“Thanks to the generosity of the East End Fund for Children and everyone who participated in the round-up and bag purchases, the Retreat has been able to bring safety, comfort, and hope to countless children whose lives have been touched by trauma and abuse," Cate Carbonaro, its executive director, said in a release. "Your support doesn’t just make programs possible—it changes lives, offering hope where it’s needed most.”
“I am incredibly grateful to Joe Gurrera and the Citarella team for raising awareness of the tremendous need that exists for underserved children and families in our community," said Bonnie Michelle Cannon, executive director of the Bridgehampton Child Care Center.
And Joan Overlock, director of development for the Whitmore Center, added that "Each year, the proceeds from the fund-raiser have provided the equivalent of more than 20 annual scholarships and more than 18,000 healthy snacks for preschoolers.”
“We’ve been lucky to call the East End home for over two decades — and it’s always been important to me to support our community," the markets' owner, Joe Gurrera, said in the announcement. Over the past four years, "we’ve been able to raise over $450,000 [for the fund] thanks to the generosity of our customers and dedication of our team."