Graeme Preston Foundation for Life's Festival of Friends Draws 1,200

For the Preston family, the annual Festival of Friends is about giving back to a community that held them up during their darkest hour. The event, sponsored by the Graeme Preston Foundation for Life, drew 1,200 people to Pine Grove Day Camp in Wall on Saturday, according to Deb Preston, Graeme’s aunt.

The foundation was formed after 12-year-old Graeme Preston died in an accident in 2008. The family was touched by the help they received from friends and neighbors after Graeme’s death, as well as in the years that followed as the charity grew.

“You get overwhelmed by how much support we get,” said Lester Preston Jr., Graeme’s uncle.

The Festival of Friends provided recreational activities, food, music, and a basket raffle. Area businesses donated prizes for the raffle and the entertainers and musicians who appeared at the event donated their time and talented. The community’s generosity is inspiring for Graeme’s family.

“You ask for help and instead of one or two things, you get 50,” Lester Preston Jr. said.

The funds raised will support the mission of the Graeme Preston Foundation for Life. The charity has given out over $150,000 since it was founded. Past recipients of donations from the foundation include the Freehold First Aid & Emergency Squad and Open Door. The organization provides assistance to Freehold area families facing economic or personal hardships.

The foundation also sponsors the Dennis McGackin Jr. Music Program, which is held at the Freehold Borough YMCA Community Center. The program honors the memory of Graeme’s second cousin, who died in 2009 at the age of 27. Students in the Dennis McGackin Jr. Music Program receive piano, guitar or drum lessons.

During this year’s Festival of Friends, the Graeme Preston Foundation for Life gave out $5,000 donations to Collier High School and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Colin Pascik Road to Recovery. Collier is a private, nonprofit school in Morganville for students with disabilities. The Road to Recovery project sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign War Monroe Central Post 262; the organization is raising money to make Colin Pascik’s home handicap-accessible. While serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Pascik was injured by an improvised explosive device and lost both legs.

The community’s unwavering support of the Graeme Preston Foundation for Life allows the organization to grow and provide funding for worthy causes.