ISLANDWIDE
Speed-dating firm to raise money for 9/11
Long Islanders might have another reason to go on dates next month.
Local speed-dating company WeekendDating.com will donate all profits from September singles parties to Sept. 11 charities.
"I felt this was the least I could do," said Jay Rosensweig, an Internet researcher from Bayside who founded WeekendDating.com in February of last year. "I was looking to do something September 11-related; a lot of people are still affected to this day."
This year, Sept. 11 falls on a Saturday, when Rosensweig, 33, would normally be hosting an event around Long Island, Queens or Brooklyn, he said.
"I just didn't feel right earning money on September 11," he said. "It just seemed like this was the right time as far as being able to give something back."
Proceeds from the company's parties in Brooklyn and Queens will benefit the Freedom Calls Foundation, which provides Internet communication for troops in Iraq.
Long Island event profits will go to the Long Island September 11 Memorial, a project created by the Long Island Association of Retired New York City Firefighters to honor the nearly 400 Long Islanders who died in the terrorist attacks.
The $8-million memorial, planned to be built at Farmingdale State University, will include a building with biographies of the Long Islanders who were lost that day and other resources depending on what their families need, said Robert DeSilva, a retired New York City firefighter who is heading up the project.
Rosensweig said he's hoping to raise up to $10,000 for the charities.
- DEBORAH HIRSCH
