Long Island Cares Celebrates Legacy 30

is hosting 10-day celebration to honor its founder, Harry Chapin, called Legacy 30 starting Friday.

The Hauppauge-based food bank's Legacy 30 events commemorate the tragic death of its founder, Harry Chapin, in a car accident on July 16, 1981. The singer founded LI Cares in 1980 with hopes of stamping out hunger on Long Island.

"Harry Chapin's contributions to the human services landscape on Long Island and especially his work to end hunger both locally and globally were so significant that we need more than week to celebration his legacy," said Paule Pachter, executive director of LI Cares.

The nonprofit will kick off the celebration Friday by hosting their third annual "Making a Difference" day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Local residents can tour the organization's warehouse in the Hauppauge Industrial Park and participate in a Hunger 101 workshop, which teaches about the face of hunger and its surrounding issues on Long Island. This event will be held again on July 15.

This Friday, Walk FM will also join LI Cares in promoting their Legacy Week food and fund drive at the Super Stop & Shop in Farmingdale on Route 110 from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. LI Cares' goal is to raise $100,000 in donations over the 10-day celebration, Pachter said.

"This year, due to the 30th anniversary, we asked our ourselves how do you celebration 30 years of a legacy when it is so extensive. We set out to do a few things," the executive director said. "So many people wanted to get involved, it mushroomed into eight events in 10 days."

Other highlights include "Harry Chapin: A Celebration in Song" concert where Chapin family members will perform the late singer's songs at Heckscher in Huntington on July 16 and a "Just Wild about Harry" tribute concert featuring Stuart Marcus on July 18 at Eisenhower Park.

The full schedule of Legacy 30 events can be found on Long Island Care's website.