The second annual Sabrina Navaretta Hockey Night will honor the late Syosset High School grad while fundraising for a high school scholarship on Nov. 30.
The fundraiser will feature back-to-back hockey games starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center in Bethpage. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m.
The event will honor Woodbury’s Sabrina Navaretta, who died last year at 19.
Sabrina graduated from Syosset High School and attended the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. She died in a car accident in last April while at college.
After her death, her parents began the Sabrina Navaretta Memorial Foundation, which donates to various charities and organizations and provides two senior scholarship awards.
Sabrina’s father, John Navaretta, said Sabrina’s love for the sport inspired the Hockey Night.
“Sabrina was a big hockey fan,” he said.
John said she was very active in the hockey world on Long Island.
“Once all became aware of Sabrina’s tragic accident, the support from all corners of the hockey world and community was overwhelming and instrumental in our family’s healing process,” he said.
The foundation said all money raised at the Hockey Night will go towards various charities the organization supports.
According to the foundation, this includes senior scholarship awards, assistance to families that have lost a child or sibling, donations to the Syosset Dog Rescue Club, and contributions to environmental groups.
“Sabrina always wore her heart on her sleeve by giving back to others,” her mother, Mara Navaretta said.
This will be the second annual Hockey Night the foundation hosted. Last year, John said the event had about 25 fans.
“We are expecting approximately 500 fans to turn out for this year’s event,” he said.
“The enthusiasm from the community and the hockey world has multiplied substantially,” John said. “Last year’s hockey night was a tremendous success, so this year, more people are excited about the event.”
The fundraiser will feature a double-header game. At the first game, the Fire Department of the City of New York alumni will face off against the Suffolk County Police Department alumni.
Two Stanley Cup Champions who will be in attendance during the event and will be the honorary coaches for the FDNY and SCPD teams in the first game.
The second game will start at 8:30 p.m. when Syosset High School will play Massapequa High School.
“We raised a substantial amount of money last year, which helped us to continue with our mission statement,” John said.
“This year, we hope to continue with our success in raising money so we may expand our mission statement to offer more assistance to people in need and continue to help others just as our daughter Sabrina did during her short life,” he said.
The suggested donation upon entrance is $10.00 per person. Donations will be accepted at the door or in advance through Vemno or Zelle. Donations can be made to @SabNavScholarship on Venmo at 516-551-3347 on Zelle.
There will be raffles and auctions at the event, and free t-shirts will be given away at the door while supplies last.
The second annual Hockey Night will be at the town Ice Skating Center in Bethpage on Nov. 30. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., and the first game will begin at 7:00 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.sabnavfoundation.org.
