The Spadtastics will be playing at Tilley Pond Park at a “Friends of Freddie” event to raise funds to help a local man with cerebral palsy. The event is free, but there will be opportunities to contribute. Food trucks will be nearby.
Here’s information about the event, with more information about the fundraising campaign further down:
More About the Friday Night Concert
The “Friends of Freddie” Web page on Go Fund Me also has this information about the concert:
Darien Summer Nights 2017
Come listen to the jazzy tunes of Free Flow, followed by the Spadtastics at Tilley Pond Park. As always, the Darien Summer Nights concerts are free but tonight is also a fundraiser for Darien’s own Freddie Tuccinardi.
Funds are being raised to convert Freddie’s home to become handicap accessible and also to pay for his necessary phyiscal therapy, which is no longer covered by insurance.
Our minimum goal to accomplish this is $40,000 but we are aiming much higher. We will have donation jars at each of the entrances as well as a giving tree to help support Freddie’s cause.
All donations made to Friends of Freddie or via the GoFundMe account will go directly to the Darien Lions Club Foundation, which is a 501c3, so your gifts are tax-deductible.
The Spadtastics
You can donate now online here. You can get updates via the Friends of Freddie page of Facebook.
You can also send checks made payable to:
The Darien Lions Club Foundation, c/o Freddie’s Friends, P.O. Box 144, Darien, CT 06820
In addition to the bands there will be lots of delicious local food vendors, who will donating a percentage of their business that night to Friends of Freddie.
Food Trucks:
Melt Mobile
Colony Pizza
Cowabunga
Food Tent:
The Darien Butcher Shop
and the Gofer ice cream cart
Free parking:
Koon’s lot at the corner of Leroy and West Ave
Bring beach chairs and blankets!
The Fundraising Campaign
A GoFundMe.com fundraising campaign has been set up to help Darien resident Freddie Tuccinardi, who has cerebral palsy, and his mother get their house refurbished to make it easier for him to get up and down stairs and to make it safer for them.
Photo from Friends of Freddie on Facebook
Freddie Tuccinardi
There also will be opportunities for people to give to the campaign Friday night, Sept. 8, when the Spadtastics play a Darien Summer Nights concert at Tilley Pond Park.
“Freddie’s home is not handicapped accessible and his bedroom is on the second floor of the house,” Darien Fire Department Chairman Dan Anderson wrote on the campaign Web page for Tuccinardi on GoFundMe.com. ” Through the years, it has become more challenging for his aging mother to carry him up and down stairs.”
Friends of Freddie is an ongoing effort to help Tuccinardi and his family deal with his health condition, and the GoFundMe campaign is the most recent part of that project.
Started almost two weeks ago, the GoFundMe campaign had raised $5,435 of its $50,000 goal by Wednesday morning, including one donation from an anonymous contributor for $2,000.
Here’s the full text of Anderson’s fundraising appeal on GoFundMe.com:
Sometimes it takes a village…
One of my favorite aspects of Darien is our ability and desire to rally together and help those in need. We are unique in our focus on volunteerism and giving back to others who are less fortunate than ourselves.
A popular resident of Darien needs our help now. Freddie Tuccinardi is known to many of us from his roles at all 3 of Darien’s fire departments, Palmer’s and Ring’s End.
His positive attitude is contagious, despite his disabilities as a result of cerebral palsy. He does not complain and he does not ask for help, but his friends know that he and his family would benefit greatly from our help, specifically improvements to the home that he lives in with his mother on Edgerton [Street].
Freddie’s home is not handicap[ped] accessible and his bedroom is on the second floor of the house. Through the years, it has become more challenging for his aging mother to carry him up and down stairs. In addition, electrical updates and improvements are necessary for their safety.
Unfortunately, the Tuccinardis do not have the means to make the necessary changes to help them live in a safer environment. They need our help!
Freddie’s Friends, including Julie Genovese, Jenny Tarleton, Kristin Edwards, Barb Hazelton, Brooks Hrusa, Barbara Andrianus, Charlie Saverine, Darien Lions Club and many others would like to make it easy and fun to donate to his cause. No tuxedos, no ticket prices and no silent auction. Just a group of caring individuals planning a party at Tilley Pond Park on Sept. 8 featuring our favorite local band, the Spadtastics!
There you will have many opportunities to donate to this wonderful family. Of course, you may donate now through this Friends of Freddie Go Fund Me account that we have set up with the Lions Club of Darien.
Thank you for your consideration and for your thoughtfulness. Remember he is not asking for the help that we are offering. His family’s heart and attitude are reasons enough.
Dan Anderson
Chairman
Darien Fire Department
Editor’s note: This article originally was published Aug. 30. The time stamp has been changed to return the link to the home page, as a reminder. We’ve also changed the headline, added a new lead paragraph and moved paragraphs around.