Dyker Heights mom epitomizes unsung heroes in cancer fight
Sandy Irrera’s house is usually filled with gift baskets during the Christmas holiday season. But they’re not baskets filled with gifts for her husband Tommy or their daughters Nanci or Tiffany. The baskets are part of Irrera’s work to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, a charity that provides lodging in New York for children undergoing cancer treatments.
Irrera organizes the annual “Bingo for Baskets” fundraiser for the cancer charity. She became involved in the Ronald McDonald House through her membership in the Mapleton Kiwanis Club. “That’s where I learned about Ronald McDonald House. The club used to go twice a year and I said to the president, ‘Why not go more often?’ He told me I was right. Now we go once every two months,” she said.
Irrera epitomizes the spirit of volunteerism that is found in communities all over Brooklyn. Hundreds of charitable organizations in the borough would not be able to do what they do without the help and support of a group of largely unsung heroes working behind the scenes for no pay.