Northport Angels earn their wings

By Lynn Petry
lynn.petry@newsday.com

Angels have been found in many religions, and now they’ve been spotted in Northport.

Long time friends, Luke Kennedy and Michael Pellegrino, have formed the Northport Angels Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for local families in need. Recently, they raised funds to help a local family battle cancer. Their venue was the Great Cow Harbor 10-Kilometer Run held in September.

Along with contributions from more than 100 runners and the sale of t-shirts, they raised $5,000 that went directly to 9-year-old Alec Campo of East Northport, who suffers from a bone cancer called Osteosarcoma. The two young men heard about Alec and his illness through Luke’s younger brother and they immediately decided to reach out and help him and his family.

Raising money for those in need is not new for Kennedy, who ran in the New York City Marathon last year to raise money for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. This year, on Nov. 4, he’ll be running in the New York City Marathon to raise money not only for Sloan-Kettering, but for Alec and the Angels Foundation. After that, Pellegrino and Kennedy plan on raising money during the holidays with local food and toy drives.

The reception that the Angels have gotten from others has been overwelming.

“Everyone knows someone who has cancer, in their family’s circle, a friend’s friend, a neighbor, everyone. We’ve just decided to do something about it,” says Pellegrino, who won’t be running the race on Nov. 4, but cheering from the sidelines. "We want people to contact us if they’re in need, that’s why we’re doing this.”

All the information on the Northport Angel Foundation and their fundraisers is posted on their website: http://www.northportangels.com/.

Pictured above: William Smith and Michael Pellegrino of the Northport Angels were awarded town proclamations for their 10K run last month.