Long Island Bagel Shop Employees Use Tips to Make Christmas Bright For Needy Children

SETAUKET, NY - The holiday spirit of giving took hold of a Setauket bagel shop as employees saved their tips to buy gifts for children from families in need this season.

The employees at Strathmore Bagels-Three Village Plaza have made it an annual tradition. 

“The workers here have really good hearts and they just wanted to make sure families that may not have everything, that they would be able to provide for them,” said shop owner Richard Zaleski, who put up a sign telling customers of their plan to donate tips.

Employees gathered their tips Thanksgiving weekend through mid-December and shopped for presents last Thursday evening, Zaleski said.

After the shopping trips are complete, Zaleski hosts a pizza party, and the employees wrap gifts together.

“You can see the joy that it brings out of them,” Zaleski said. “It was a happy night.”

The tradition began in 2008 with Sarah Martinez, a former Strathmore Bagels employee, said manager Melissa Palladino.

“She was looking to do something for the community and found that we were able to do this for local families — raise money and get gifts for them,” Palladino said. “It feels great to help the community in any way, and it’s just awesome. Everyone here is awesome. They all want to help and contribute. Our customers are very generous.”

This year, the shop was able to contribute $1,400 for gifts and was even able to provide one single mother’s family with a new iPad mini.

“She asked for a refurbished iPod mini,” said Three Village Central School District social worker Leia Woodruff, who coordinated the gift giving. “I reached out to her, and she said, ‘Oh my God.’ She was just totally amazed.”

At the beginning of every school year, Woodruff sends out a notice to parents in the district to explain the social services the school offers, one of which is help around the holidays.

Woodruff contacts parents who check a box for holiday help, and they send her their children’s letters to Santa. She then passes along the info to Strathmore Bagels in the form of tags, which list the gender, age and gift requested.

“Some of these families are living paycheck to paycheck, some have gone through divorce or a loss, some people lost a job,” Woodruff said. “They say over and over, ‘We would not be able to do this. The kids would not have anything this close of an amazing Christmas without this.’”

Parents often have difficulty asking for help, especially in the upper-middle class Three Village community, where struggle is more sparse, Woodruff said, but they do it for the kids.

“It’s hard for them, with their pride and whatnot, but they are able to push it aside for their kids,” Woodruff said. “We really try and make it as easy and comfortable [as possible].“

Woodruff said the need grows with each passing year, and this year, 32 kids were helped as part of the program.

The bagel employees buy gifts anonymously without ever meeting the families, an experience Woodruff gets to cherish, she said.

“Nobody gets to see the part I get — the hugging and crying,” Woodruff said. “They are totally moved by the generosity of the community. It’s very special.”

[Photo: Strathmore Bagels-Three Village Plaza employees who donated tips for children in need pose for a photo.]

[Photo courtesy of Leia Woodruff]