Former Super Bowl winner Gary Brown donates meals to Angels of Long Island

Since 2015, Debbie Loesch and her daughter, Brittany, have been supplying members of the Patchogue community with meals, clothing, and any other necessities with their nonprofit Angels of Long Island. This year especially, the need for donations has grown with the financial insecurities brought on by the pandemic.

To help, Loesch has set up a variety of events to support individuals and families in need by supplying food on a weekly basis. Every week, the nonprofit has a sharing table Monday through Saturday, perishables on Tuesdays and Fridays, and nonperishables on Monday. Their shopping space provides clothes for free or at low prices, with coat drives in winter as well. To raise funds for the nonprofit, the owners also take an approach that not only helps the community, but the environment.

“We started a recycling program where we take New York State 5-cent deposit bottles back. We got enough bottles and cans from the community, instead of them getting thrown in the garbage and ending up in all landfills,” she said.

Since retiring from football in 1998, Gary Brown, former lineman with the Green Bay Packers, has devoted his time to his nonprofit Gary Brown Dream 68. The path he took to get here involved a lot of self-reflection.

“I started reflecting on my life a little bit. I always knew I wanted to give back. But when I was playing football, I never had the time, because I was always doing this that and the other,” he said.

After a back injury that left him partially paralyzed, Brown was inspired by Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker with tetra-amelia syndrome, and decided to focus his energy on helping others. He started looking into how he could help in the community, starting as a mentor with Big Brother-Big Sister.

“Then I realized that [helping others] is what I wanted to do... that day,” he added. “I started giving back; it changed my life. It got me out of bed... It made me focus on how I can be a pillar instead of a stumbling block.”

Since he decided to get involved, he’s volunteered in homeless shelters and as a mentor for kids on Long Island. The purpose of his nonprofit Gary Brown 68 is to help underprivileged youth, the handicapped, and their families.

Since the Angels of Long Island has the relentless task of being a support system for homeless or low-income families, Brown decided to help them serve their community. He learned about the nonprofit from a fellow real estate agent (Brown is now a licensed agent) Michele Best.

Brown personally donated 11,000 meals to the nonprofit for the week. Families could take a box each, and every box donated contained eight meals. Brown hopes to expand on the donation with 11,000 meals next week. Next month, it could be 20,000.

For Brown, helping those in need helped him overcome his own personal struggles. The opportunity to do something for another person puts things into perspective and can give life a renewed purpose. Angels of Long Island accepts clothing donation with curbside pickup, as well as monetary donations made on their website. Volunteers are also needed to help in the store. For a fun time that benefits those in need, the nonprofit will be hosting a carnival from Aug. 12 to 15 with rides and refreshments. All proceeds will be donated to Hagerman Fire Department and Angels of Long Island.

The nonprofit will also host a back-to-school event where families can shop for school materials. Loesch has arranged to give out crayons, notebooks, binders, and writing supplies in a drive-through event that served over 600 kids last year. In addition to school supplies, a barber will be out front giving free haircuts.