Nearly 5,000 luminaries shine for Light the Night

BY SAM DESMOND

The Greater Sayville Civic Association held their annual Light the Night community event on Friday, Dec. 15, where they invited participants to light luminaries and place them around the outside of their homes.

This year, the Civic sold nearly 5,000 luminaries (400 kits) with 25 block captains.

The impressive sales were despite a delay due to a website redesign that only gave the civic three weeks.

“We didn’t start selling until three weeks ago, but we managed to pull off a successful event,” said civic vice president Kim Person, who headed the Light the Night committee.

The proceeds benefit the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, as well as the local Sayville Food Pantry and Sayville High School scholarships given out by the civic.

Co-chair and vice president Steve Burton said, “As a civic organization, we feel it’s important that you know your neighbors together, regardless of differences. It is quite beautiful to see when everyone works together, their streets and all lined, and the effect is really beautiful.”

Burton said the block captains were “essential” as there are anywhere from 300 to 600 participants and that volume would make it “nearly impossible” to handle as an organization.

“The block captains enable us to reach more residents,” said Burton.