Jerry Larsen Raises $83K For Charity

East Hampton Village mayoral candidate Jerry Larsen and running mate Sandra Melendez raised over $83,000 for two local food pantries.

In a press release, the pair announced the funds will be equally split among East Hampton Food Pantry, the Springs Food Pantry, and toward providing free daycare to children of essential workers through East Hampton’s Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center.

“The demand and surge that our food pantries are seeing is nothing they’ve ever experienced,” Larsen said. “We will continue to raise as much as we can for these wonderful organizations, as they support our community. This is not about the village or town of East Hampton. We are one community.”

He thanked those who donated, including The Independent owner Ronald Perelman, Dr. Anna Chapman, Marc and Diane Spilker, Andy Sabin, Bruce and Wendy Mosler, Christy Ferer, Ami Schulman, Diane Curland, Thomas Lee, and the companies Warby Parker and Blade, among others who wished to remain anonymous.

“This all started when we had a standstill in our campaigning due to the pandemic,” said Melendez, a village board candidate. “We figured that we had a great following, and we could use it to do something good for the community. Jerry spoke to the pantries and we reached out to our supporters that were so generous helping those who need it the most.”

“As a business owner and mother of four, I know how stressful this pandemic is, and being able to help others brings hope to all of us,” Melendez continued. “If anyone else wishes to donate, we can always help them get their donations to any of the three recipients.”

To do so, contact Larsen at jlarsen@mafgrp.com.

Editor’s note: Jerry Larsen is currently head of security for Ronald Perelman, who owns The Independent.

karen@karenfredericks.com