Community Corner
Community Bands Together For Wantagh Business Owner
Hot Pilates Studio owner Beth Young was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
A website dedicated to supporting a Wantagh business owner reads, "To know her is to know her smile, her laughter and her love of life."
Even while battling cancer, Beth Young finds joy in life and love wherever she goes, and that eternal passion is what her friends believe will bring her back to good health.
Young, owner of Wantagh-based Hot Pilates Studio, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and has been unable to attend work regularly. Friends of the Freeport native banded together to form Love for Beth, a foundation determined to help Young overcome her battle.
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"Beth one was one my first friends I made when I moved to Freeport," said Bernadette Martin, who founded Love for Beth with Young's family, close friends and her husband's FDNY colleagues. "I saw a friend in need, a dear friend who is so private she would never want to bother anyone with her story. It was time for friends to step in and reach out to the community, not just financial support but for emotional support as well."
Martin said that although Young was reluctant to accept the assistance, she couldn't be more thankful for the generous response from the community in Wantagh and her hometown of Freeport.
Find out what's happening in Wantagh-Seafordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"They have reached deep into their hearts, not to mention their wallets," Martin said. "The response via Facebook, e-mails, blogs and text messages has been so comforting to Beth and her family. It's like they belong to a larger family than they could have ever imagined."
Aside from accepting donations and support for running the studio, Love for Beth has organized several fundraisers across Long Island to raise additional funds for Young and her family. On March 31, Wild Women Productions will host a benefit comedy show at Hauppauge's Sheraton Hotel at 8 p.m. and on April 11, an Evening of Beauty and Fashion will be held at Competition BMW of Smithtown at 7 p.m.
"Beth is a beautiful woman inside and out," Martin said. "It's hard to describe - she's like an angel, full of sweet kindness and compassion. I hope people can say a prayer, send a card, post a blog or just think of her once a day and wish her well."
