Making the world better at 16

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Making the world better at 16


December 3, 2006

A slender, earnest 16-year-old who goes door-to-door to raise money and awareness for lupus sufferers, took his place recently among the pillars of Long Island philanthropy.

Andrew Alderman, a junior at East Meadow High School, was chosen for the first "Leaders of Tomorrow" award from the Long Island chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Not only was Alderman the first recipient of the youth award, he also was a factor in the creation of the award. Alderman was nominated for two awards that usually go to adult community leaders - one for outstanding volunteer and one for an individual or corporation who not only makes a tremendous impact on the Long Island community but also works to inspire others, according to the chapter's Philanthropy Day chairwoman Tammy Severino.

The association long had considered the need for recognizing young volunteers, she said, and here was Alderman "exemplifying what our awards stand for."

Teen volunteering is not in itself unusual. Almost 60 percent of American youths aged 12 to 17 volunteer for one cause or another, according to a Gallup survey sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Foundation. At least 70 percent reported volunteering "if they believed that social problems like poverty and hopelessness can be overcome through volunteer efforts, felt a moral duty to help people who suffer or believed that it is within their power to do things that improve the welfare of others." Most said they volunteered after they saw someone in their family help others, or were helped in the past by others.

Alderman takes his place among a reported 13.3 million teen volunteers.

For the past four years, he has pounded the pavement, ringing doorbells in a quest of donations for the Long Island/Queens Affiliate of the Lupus Alliance of America, and for the search for a cure.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system, for unknown reasons, forms antibodies that attack the body's normal tissue. Symptoms include skin rashes, muscle and joint pain, and overwhelming fatigue and malaise. An estimated 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus.

"I get upset when people turn me down, but I keep going and going and going," Alderman said.

For the Alliance's annual walk-a-thon in Eisenhower Park in October, he distributed brochures to stores in advance, arrived at the site at 7 a.m., helped set up, register and feed the walkers, and took the walk himself, getting back in time to serve lunch and clean up after the event.



Raising money creatively

Alderman has raised close to $10,000 for the Alliance, often in innovative ways. He collected $300 from vendors at a home show in the Nassau Coliseum. Once, he got an autograph from former baseball star Darryl Strawberry - and a $20 contribution for lupus.

"I don't know what we would do without Andrew," said JoAnn Quinn, executive director of the Long Island/Queens Affiliate. After school and on vacations, he stuffs envelopes, takes inventory and rearranges the back storage in the Bellmore office. Sometimes he brings friends. "I'm blessed to be part of his life," said Quinn, 56, who has lived with lupus for 38 years.

Alderman's compassion is more remarkable, she said, "because the disease has not touched anyone in his family."



An inspiration close to home

The lupus sufferer who inspired Alderman was a student interning with his mother, Loraine, a clinical and school psychologist. Alderman, then approaching 13 and his bar mitzvah at the East Meadow Jewish Center, was required to do 20 hours of community service. He did 250 hours.

His mother credits Quinn and the Alliance staff for encouraging and appreciating Andrew's help from the beginning.

"They treated him with respect, even though he was only 12," she said.

Alderman, who plays lacrosse and volunteers with the Long Island Lizards pro team, helps out at Lizards benefits for autism and other disabilities, even sacrificing his own celebrity autographs for auction. He also coaches younger children in lacrosse and karate.

His service has not gone unnoticed. He has received a presidential Gold Volunteer Service Award and certificates of recognition from U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), the Town of Hempstead and the Nassau County Legislature.

At the fundraisers' luncheon, Alderman shared honors with well-known philanthropist Amy Hagedorn; Janine Dion, who founded Pet Peeves, an umbrella organization that has saved hundreds of animals; and the Bank of America, which announced two annual $200,000 grants to nonprofits working to improve the community.

Alderman sat quietly, thinking of ways to raise money to fight lupus.
www.LupusMCTD.com