$25,000 RAISED BY WOMAN WANTING TO GIVE BACK ON HER OWN BIRTHDAY

(College Point, NY) - When Mattye Gandel realized her 65th birthday was inching closer, she didn’t want presents or a party.  “I didn’t want it to be focused on me,” Gandel said. “I wanted to see what I could do for somebody else.”

So for Mattye, her birthday gift came in the form of raising over $25,000 for the New York Child Learning Institute (NYCLI), a school for children with autism in College Point, Queens that her great nephew currently attends.

Mattye also has another strong connection to those with autism. “I have an autistic cousin in his 40’s and now he does nothing,” Gandel said. “Things like this [schools for autism] didn’t happen back then [when he was a child].”

Inspired by a friend who recently raised money for a charity by biking hundreds of miles, Mattye decided to dust off her walking shoes and set out on a 2 day - 40 mile walk to raise money for NYCLI. 

But, she knew she didn’t have to walk alone. Mattye reached out to 3 friends with whom she’d done the Avon Breast Cancer walk in 2001.   Bambi Granovsky, Frema Sobel and Linda Beckerman, all of whom are in their late 50’s to early 60’s, as well as the boy’s grandmother, Toby Cobrin.

“They all have grand children and know the importance of helping their kids and giving other children good starts,” Gandel remarked.

The 5 women spent 3 months training and fundraising.  Starting with 4 mile walks they increased the distance every week until they reached their ultimate goal.  During this training period the 5 women were able to generate donations from nearly 200 family, friends and businesses.

In early May they set out on their two day walk, “We walked on country roads, so it was quiet, people would stop us and talk… they were amazed.”  Gandel continued, "We all felt really great about what we had accomplished."