Parade To Benefit Teen Battling Cancer Set To Step Off Saturday

NORTH FORK, NY— Main Road will be a sea of green stretching from Greenport to Mattituck Saturday as the community turns out for a parade to benefit a teen battling cancer.

The "Team Dylan North Fork Parade," to benefit Dylan Newman, 16, of Southold, will begin at 10 a.m. Cars will line up on Moores Lane in Greenport for the parade, which will wend its way along Route 25 before ending in the Mattituck shopping plaza. Many have reportedly signed up to participate as the community rallies in solidarity.

Participants are asked to decorate their cars in green to show support for Dylan and his family. A donation of $20 is suggested for each car; business donations are also accepted.

Funds raised at the event, organized by Britta Babashak, Jessica Michaelis, and Kim Kraehling, will benefit the Newman family.

"Dylan is heading for a second round of treatment," Michaelis said. "We want the North Fork community to come together in a socially distanced way to show our love and support to the Newman family."

Jen Becker is selling masks for Dylan's benefit; she can be found on Facebook as "Designs by Jen." Wendy's Deli is also selling "Team Dylan" masks to benefit the Newman family.

The whole community has rallied for Dylan — whose treatments began in May, 2018 — with a series of fundraisers, including, a Kait's Angels yard sale and a "Team Dylan #5 Fundraiser" held at Claudio's.

Other events, packed with a friends and supporters, have included a "Dash for Dylan" fundraiser that brought more than 400 to the Southold Junior/Senior High School gym. Supporters also teamed up to "Pack The Shack" at another fundraiser, "Food For A Cause," held at The North Fork Shack.

Dylan, a YouCaring page set up to help said, is "full of love and life. He loves his sports — especially baseball. He has an amazing family that loves him more than he could ever know and the greatest friends that will always have his back."

However, their family was hit with devastating news. "This boy has been thrown a real curve ball," the page says. "Our #5 is 'In It To Win It' but will need our support."

The goal is to raise funds to help Dylan, along with his parents, Todd and Tanya, and sister Kelsey with the financial burdens as Dylan receives treatment.

Todd Newman, Dylan's dad, said his whole family is grateful for outpouring of caring from a devoted community.

"We have an army behind us to beat this," he said. "This community has been so good to us."

To sign up for the event or make a donation, contact Britta Babashak or Jessica Michaelis at 443-223-5915 or 516-857-7516.