Lieutenant
Charles Garbarini
Engine 23

MISSING

Pleasantville teen has vehicle to aid young Afghans

By KAREN PASTERNACK
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: Oct. 17, 2001)

PLEASANTVILLE — When President Bush asked kids to each donate $1 to charitable causes last week, Joel Plue, 14, was inspired to do more.

Plue convinced his mother, Lori Bailey, that the two should embark on a campaign to raise $1 million by having a million people sign their only significant possession — a 2001 Ford Focus station wagon — at a dollar a shot. They kicked off the campaign yesterday. The money will be donated to the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund, which already has collected $4 million.

"We're not rich. We can't just write a check for $1 million," Plue said yesterday, during his lunch break from Pleasantville Middle School. "The firefighters risked their lives to help others. This is the least we can do."

The eighth-grader has had his share of struggles as a teen-ager waging a lifelong battle against juvenile arthritis, a painful and sometimes crippling disease. But he was overwhelmed by the amount of suffering he saw on television following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He wanted to do something for the families of the firefighters who were killed, including Charles Garbarini, 43, a Pleasantville resident and lieutenant with Engine Company 23 in New York City.

In past years, Plue has used his sense of humor to heal others by performing in comedy clubs, acting and developing screenplays with his mother. But his focus yesterday was the fund raising, which kicked off in the family driveway as friends and neighbors armed with permanent markers gathered around to christen the champagne-colored vehicle.

The mother and son team — who hope President Bush will be the last to sign their car — plan to raffle it off when they reach a million signatures. They're not worried about what they will drive when that time comes, Bailey said. They'll figure it out.

"I'm not one of those Laura Ashley-type moms. We live by the seat of our pants," said the single mother. "We have one thing that we own. So do we hold on to it for us, or do we give it to the country? It's a sacrifice, but it's pretty obvious what we have to do."

They are still in the process of establishing a nonprofit fund at the First Union Bank on Washington Avenue in Pleasantville to secure the donations they get until they are given away. And while they haven't established a timeline for raising the money, they plan to spend weekends for the next few months driving as far away as Washington, D.C., to collect the money and signatures.

They spent two hours yesterday tooling around the area in their car, which is covered with red, white and blue balloons, streamers and stars. Among the 200 people who stopped to sign the car and donate a dollar was Pleasantville Middle School Principal George Cancro.

"It's a wonderful gesture," Cancro said. "We encourage kids to come up with ideas. It's important for them to take their own steps to make a difference."