Richard Capizzi, who helped raise millions for pediatric cancer research, honored with Be a Good Cookie Merrick campaign

Harsh rain, widespread flooding and a state of emergency the day before their big bake sale couldn’t stop the organizers of Be a Good Cookie Merrick, a charitable upstart led by four local moms intent on raising $100,000 for pediatric cancer research.

Despite the storm, which wreaked havoc across the region, volunteers gathered outside Roma Pizza on Merrick Avenue late last month, standing alongside members of Brownie Troop #2492 and offering baked goods, candy and raffle prizes. The afternoon pop-up bake sale was one of more than two dozen events, including a cocktail fundraiser, hosted in support of the campaign against kids’ cancer, which was dedicated to Merrick resident Richard “Richie” Capizzi, a renowned pastry chef who helped raise millions for the cause before he died last year.

“This was a lot of in-your-face meetings, going to schools, speaking with Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce, and using social media to spread the word,” said organizer Christine Alonso, 46. “We went door to door, starting in June, asking businesses for support, and the town is recognizing it.”

In addition to the community bake sales, residents were asked to wear gold as a show of solidarity with the cause.

On Sept. 20, Alonso and her fellow Be a Good Cookie Merrick organizers Jennifer Casano, Anna Schlosser and Phyllis Capizzi said they were only halfway to their goal. That amount doubled in roughly 10 days, thanks to what they described as a tremendous outpouring of support from the Merrick community. By late afternoon on Sept. 30, Be a Good Cookie Merrick was just a few crumbs away from reaching its monetary goal, organizers said. (And they weren’t even done yet: Some of the community bake sales, pushed back due to the weather, were held on Oct. 1, adding to the total.)

“We were a bunch of Merrick moms, and we didn’t have much experience running a fundraiser like this, but it’s rewarding knowing how important the cause is,” Alonso said. “We all worked together like a team.”

Meeting Liam

Richard Capizzi grew up in Wantagh, graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America in 2000, and moved to Merrick in 2005. He worked in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and several top-tier New York City restaurants during a decorated career in the kitchen. Before losing a two-year battle with brain cancer, Capizzi was the head pastry chef at Lincoln Ristorante, the Italian restaurant in Lincoln Center.

Capizzi got involved with the fundraising organization Cookies for Kids’ Cancer after meeting Liam Witt, a New Jersey boy who was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma — a type of cancer generally found in children — at 2½ years old.

Liam’s mother, Gretchen, had started the organization in an effort to raise awareness about the need for funding for childhood cancer research.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 9,910 children younger than 15 in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2023. About 1,040 children are expected to die from cancer this year.

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer started with the Witts — and a team of 250 volunteers — baking and selling 96,000 cookies in December 2007, which raised more than $420,000. Since then, 16,000 fundraising events have been held, with nearly $20 million granted to pediatric cancer research centers across the country, according to the organization.

Capizzi took pride in his involvement with the group. He donated cookies that Witt said were the “size of a dinner plate,” and he would come to the organization’s family fun events with a huge blowtorch to make sugar art. His family and friends said he was constantly using the talent that earned him the title of “Pastry Chef of the Year” at the 2003 U.S. Pastry Competition for the greater good.

“Hearing the stories of children suffering from cancer inspired Richie to be involved,” said his widow, Phyllis, 45. “He always said there was a power in pastry.”

Liam lost his battle with neuroblastoma in 2011 at 6 years old, but Cookies for Kids’ Cancer continued to provide baked goods and the philanthropic framework for campaigns like Be a Good Cookie Merrick to operate.

When the group launched Chefs for Kids’ Cancer as an official benefit in 2014, Witt said Capizzi stood out among those who supported her organization. He was the Pastry Chair of the event, which raises millions for childhood cancer research.

“Richie understood that there’s an intrinsic connection between food and love,” said Witt. “When you give someone food, you’re showing them that you care because it’s sustenance.”

Brain surgery

In the spring of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Capizzi was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer.

“He went for an MRI and he was told to go straight to the hospital because he needed brain surgery,” his widow said. “I couldn’t go there because of COVID restrictions, so he faced the surgery alone in the hospital.”

Capizzi fought the cancer, posting optimistically on Instagram when his six-week radiation treatment ended at Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau in Uniondale in August 2021. The Capizzis took to Hawaii later that month, where they ziplined, rode all-terrain vehicles and went hiking. Capizzi wrote that he’d never forget the time he spent with his family.

Ultimately, he succumbed to the disease on Sept. 24, 2022, at 45. Phyllis Capizzi said that she and her children had been embraced by their Merrick neighborhood long before that sad day.

“I could have never expected the support that Merrick has given us, they never asked if I needed anything, they always knew how to help and they were always there,” Phyllis Capizzi said. “It’s been like that since his diagnosis.”

In April, Witt said she reached out to Alonso and Phyllis Capizzi about launching a Cookies for Kids’ Cancer campaign in Merrick.

“He was a remarkable person, so for his family, especially his kids, it’s important to see his legacy continue,” Witt said.

They’ve been there

When Be a Good Cookie Merrick asked Frank Lonigro if the group could host a bake sale outside of his strip mall restaurant, Frankie’s, on Merrick Road, the decision was as easy as pizza pie.

Lonigro and his family had experienced childhood cancer firsthand when his son, Jake, was diagnosed with abdominal cancer. And hosting the cookie peddlers on Saturday afternoon after the heavy rains made sense, he said, because Frankie’s was holding its grand opening and there was steady foot traffic.

“People don’t realize how much research there still needs to be done into childhood cancer until it touches home and one of your loved ones has cancer,” said Lonigro, 50, of Merrick. “It’s a life-changing event and no child should ever have to suffer.”

As the Lonigros celebrated the opening of their new establishment, having owned the shuttered Tomato & Basil Pizzeria a few doors away for over 20 years, they found it fitting there was a fundraiser for childhood cancer among the festivities.

“I was diagnosed when I was 11 years old with a rare small tumor, but I overcame it and now I’m here,” Jake Lonigro, now 20, said. “It melts my heart to see people supporting kids’ cancer research at our grand opening because of what I went through as a child.”

Mother and daughter, Beth and Sadie Freifeld, managed the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer table outside Frankie’s. Although Sadie, 16, has beat cancer three times, the Freifelds said they haven’t stopped fighting for recognition for childhood cancer research and awareness.

“This neighborhood has been very good to us and we’re here to raise more money for clinical trials,” said Beth Freifeld, 46. “We’ve been waiting for years to see this type of recognition for kids’ cancer.”

Although they didn’t know Richard Capizzi, the Freifelds said they felt compelled to get involved.

“I grew up doing fundraisers for pediatric cancer, having gone through it, so it’s amazing to be here today with people I love,” said Sadie Freifeld. “Any activity in the community just means so much.”

‘The best side of people’

When the pop-up bake sales ended for the day, the fundraising continued at Mio Posto, a family-style eatery on Merrick Avenue, where the Be a Good Cookie Merrick organizers spoke poignantly about their campaign and the man who inspired it.

“Thanks to Richie, we have seen the best side of people, which has been heartwarming and comforting,” Alonso said. “Seeing Merrick go gold has been so inspiring and so rewarding.”

Jennifer Casano read through a list of the numerous fundraisers and good deeds done in support of Be a Good Cookie Merrick, and asked those at Mio Pisto who participated to raise their hands. Every hand in the room went up.

“We’re in a room filled with amazingly Good Cookies who came together and made this all possible,” said Casano, 43. “We owe this night to an amazing community.”

As of last week, Be a Good Cookie Merrick had held more than 20 bake sales. Through the sales and other initiatives, organizers said they had raised more than $115,000, surpassing their original goal.

“When we first set the goal of $100,000, we thought there was no way we were going to make it, but the donations kept coming in, and we saw the community getting involved,” Phyllis Capizzi said. “My friends jumped in not knowing anything about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, so for them to see the impact that they’ve had was amazing.”

In her comments to cocktail party attendees, Anna Schlosser drew inspiration from one of Capizzi’s Instagram posts where, on the anniversary of his brain surgery, he concentrated on the word “fortunate.”

“Losing Richie was a tremendous loss for so many of us, but he brought the best out of all of us,” said Schlosser, 42. “So cheers to Richie for inspiring an entire community to come together. For that, we are fortunate.”