Ron Collura used a five-gallon jug to collect over $1,000 to support fallen police officer Jonathon Diller’s family.
Diller, a Massapequa resident, was killed in March during a traffic stop in Queens.
Collura owns Arata’s Deli in Sea Cliff with his wife, Rachel, and the two of them were motivated to help Diller’s family.
Collura put the jug on the deli’s counter with a newspaper clipping of the shooting. Customers were moved by Diller’s story and were motivated to help, he said.
“They read the article, and they were really hurting,” Collura said. “They put money in.”
He said people donated anything, from spare change to $100 bills.
“Every walk of life put money in there,” he said. “Kids, grown-ups, men, women, cops.”
Some of his regular customers donated every day after buying their morning coffee, Collura said.
“It was nice,” he said. “Everyone put something in there.”
Collura doesn’t know exactly how much was in the jug, but said he believe that it’s over $1,000.
“I would say it was way over $1,000,” he said. “Because I saw 20s and 100s and 50s, and tons of singles.”
He said the jug was so full that it was hard to carry.
“It was so heavy, considering it was just paper,” he said.
The money will be donated to Diller’s family, his wife, Stephanie, and their 1-year-old son.
On Oct. 17, Collura handed off the donation to NYPD PBA Delegate Chris Kiefer, who will deliver it to the Diller family.
“Thank you so much to you and the community for your donations. I know Stephanie is going to put this money to good use,” Kiefer said in a press release.
“To see the outpouring of love for the police department – while we don’t always see it out there on the streets, it’s good to see things like this and people that care about law enforcement and come out and support us,” he said.
The handoff was attended by New York and Nassau County police officers and PBAs.
“They were genuinely, very grateful that we did it,” Collura said. “And it felt really good to do it.”
Collura said Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi Whitton helped him organize the event after finding the jug in the deli.
It was a “really nice gesture,” DeRiggi Whitton said. She said the community donated what they could, even “if it was just the change from their lunch.”
“I can’t thank Ron and Rachel enough for this effort, and I am so grateful to represent a community that has such a big heart and supports our police and first responders,” she said in a press release.
Collura said he was motivated to help Diller’s family because his own family has ties to the police department. Two of his six children are police officers, he said.
“I have two sons that are on the job,” Collura said.
He said Diller’s story had an impact on him knowing that his sons are also first responders.
“Because God forbid, it could happen to anybody’s family,” he said.
Collura himself is a former firefighter and EMT, and he said these roles made him value the community around him.
“We’re all connected,” he said.
His fundraising efforts showcase the strong community around him.
“Everybody comes together for something,” he said.
