During the Sept. 20 Garden City Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved the use of St. Paul's field house for the upcoming "Breeders' Cup Garden City Community Fund (GCCF) Family Relief Fund Benefit." The event, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 26, starting at 7:30, is a gala that was already planned on a smaller scale and originally set to take place in a tent at the Garden City Hotel to celebrate the NY Racing Association Breeders' Cup race on Oct. 27. The Village Music Makers will provide entertainment for the event while various restaurants in Garden City are donating food and beverages.

The NY Racing Association has graciously offered to donate 100 percent of the event's proceeds to the Garden City Community Fund - Family Relief Fund. The fund, established in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City's World Trade Center, is intended to financially help local families directly affected by the disaster.

According to Bob Cole, GCCF's immediate past president, members held a meeting last Friday to establish committees and expect to reconvene this Friday at 8 a.m. at the Garden City Hotel.

The field house will be appropriately decorated in red, white and blue. Tickets will be $100 and fund members are anticipating 1,000 people, hoping to generate close to $100,000 for Garden City families. Checks for the benefit must be made out to "GCCF - Family Relief Fund Benefit." Other monetary donations should be made out to "GCCF - Family Relief Fund." Cole said the fund has already raised in excess of $20,000. All donated money will be distributed to local families on an as need basis and may include a variety of forms of financial assistance, from daily living support to college tuition costs.

"Immediately after the attack, we decided we had to do something for the families impacted," Matt Cody, GCCF president, said. "We all agreed this particular event would be the perfect venue to raise a significant amount of money in the shortest amount of time."

During last Thursday's board meeting, Mayor Robert Lewis thanked the Village of Garden City in its collective effort to help neighbors and loved ones. "I'm pleased and honored as to how this community carried the burden we all carry and I encourage residents to think locally."

Barbara Miller, village trustee and health professional, echoed the mayor's comments, saying, "I extend my thoughts and prayers to the families and would like to thank the many residents who've taken part in the vast relief effort ... I have to give recognition to the anguish. There's such anguish in this community and I was really moved by the residents who called and expressed these thoughts."

The Garden City-Mineola Rotary Club, The Garden City Kiwanis Club and Chamber of Commerce, who've already collected donations from local merchants, also want to join in the efforts.

Trustees took the time to thank the village police, firefighters and rescuers who've risked their lives to save others. "I'm proud to live in Garden City and I'm particularly proud of the amount of community outpouring I've seen," Bob Schoelle, village administrator, said.

Garden City Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo mentioned six officers and one police sergeant were sent to "ground zero" while many others went on their own accord. "We've been on standby status," he said. Career and volunteer firefighters were also on the scene as well.

Cole said The Family Relief Fund recently received a letter from an 11-year-old girl who, along with her sister and friend, sent in proceeds from their lemonade stand sale. Moreover, the fund received letters with donations expressing heartfelt sympathy.

In the ongoing effort, information regarding the newly established family relief fund has been published in local papers like the Garden City Life, and is available at local stores like CVS in Garden City.