Jen Gallozzi of West Islip is a very caring person. It’s just in her nature. After organizing small clothing drives throughout her teens and college years at Hofstra, she wanted to help people on a larger scale and fill a void for those in need, while at the same time inspiring children and the community to unite to assist those less fortunate. “It starts to be a way of life, that giving is natural,” she says. And through that spirit, Helping Hands in West Islip, Inc. (HHWI) was founded in 1990.

“We made a choice to do this as a family,” Jen says proudly. “I couldn’t have done this alone, without the help of my husband, Bob, and my daughters, Jaime, Jodie and Jannah.

“We don’t ask for money,” Jen explains. “That’s how you get people to help you. Giving begins with the heart and not your wallet.” Through Jen’s community spirit, leadership and hard work, she has built the grassroots non-profit, which now assists more than 7,000 children annually, mostly throughout Suffolk County.

HHWI provides living essentials for needy families when other charities can’t. HHWI accepts donated items that are both new and used. “It was not an easy path,” Jen explains, regarding the obstacles she had to face in order to get donation boxes put into some areas. According to Jen, people were in disbelief that others could be in such need. “They just couldn’t fathom it.” HHWI doesn’t confine their giving to the holidays either—they keep the spirit of giving alive all year.

Jen organizes a one-day drive every month that includes everything from shoes to toys to food to school supplies. Jen asks that the donated items be put into decorated shopping bags or made into a gift basket, if possible. “I’m the reason so many people’s closets are cleaned [out],” she says, smiling. Storage space is only required overnight because all the donations are distributed the day of the drive.

Jen says that HHWI has countless liaisons throughout the community who help her organize the drives, including local schools, small businesses, corporations, Girl and Boy Scouts and religious groups.

“A lot of people have helped me from the beginning. People don’t lose interest. It makes them feel good and they like the camaraderie. HHWI isn’t just mine, it’s everybody’s.” Jen says she is now seeing a trend where children that were helped years ago by HHWI are now grown and helping other needy children.

“I help people with their good intentions,” Jen says. “They don’t have to go to the store and shop for something to donate, they always have something in their house that they can give. People don’t like if you tell them how to give. I let people give the way they want to.” There’s no pressure to keep donating, and Jen says HHWI doesn’t keep track of what’s been given in the past, they just appreciate the contribution.

The Gallazzo family’s spirit of giving is truly remarkable. Jen’s oldest daughter, Jaime, shared a story with me about a student at Stony Brook University who had no parents and was struggling to stay in school for his last semester. Jaime and her sister Jodie gave him a used car that was a gift to them from their grandmother so that he could get a job to pay for school. “He had no one to go to,” Jaime explains. Jen says her children realize how lucky they are to that they have parents to turn to if they have a problem.

Almost everyone at one time or another can use a helping hand. Jen says that people are holding on to possessions longer in this economic climate, but says if you have six items, take one and donate it. “It’s about giving dignity and helping people in your everyday life,” Jen says. “Everyone gets perked up when they receive a gift.”

For more information go to www.freewebs.com/hhinwi or jengallozzi@optonline.net.

If you know a super woman who deserves good Fortune—and a profile—e-mail your nominations to Beverly at bfortune@longislandpress.com.