On a cool and sunny Sunday morning, hundreds of friends, family members, and neighbors of the late Emily Finn ran and walked around West Sayville to raise money for domestic violence awareness, just days after the local teen would have turned 19.
The Emily Finn Foundation, a nonprofit formed by the late West Sayville teen’s family to raise awareness for domestic violence awareness and education, hosted the 5K run and walk at Cherry Avenue Elementary School, where Emily Finn, who aspired to be a teacher, attended and later taught while in high school.
Finn’s life was cut short last November when Suffolk County police said her ex-boyfriend shot her dead at his home.
The run/walk took place alongside a month-long virtual walk campaign that launched at SUNY Oneonta, where Finn attended as a freshman, led by students and members of the Terpsichorean Dance Co. Before attending college, Finn danced with the American Ballet Studio in Bayport, and is remembered by friends and instructors as a strong leader.
The in-person run/walk also took place three days after Finn’s birthday, and during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, two occasions that inspired the Emily Finn Foundation to launch its “Love, Emily” campaign to raise youth domestic violence awareness at age-appropriate levels.
“It’s been tremendous,” said Cliantha Miller-Finn, Emily Finn’s mother, about the foundation’s campaign. Throughout the month, Miller-Finn and her foundation have attended local civic meetings and schools to educate the community and preserve Finn’s memory and impact.
To mark Finn’s birthday, the foundation encouraged community members to wear pink, the young West Sayville dancer’s favorite color, and hosted a schoolwide assembly at Cherry Avenue Elementary, which featured student dancers from the American Ballet Studio, and over 400 students singing a song dedicated to Finn.
“It was unbelievably touching… it was a whole sea of pink,” Miller-Finn said. “It was just such an amazing tribute to her.”
Before sunset, close family and friends gathered at Common Ground Park, where the Town of Islip donated a bench with a bronze plaque dedicated to Finn. To cap the day off, community members gathered at Sayville Congregational United Church of Christ for a vigil to reflect, remember, and advocate for better youth mental health resources and domestic violence awareness.
The Emily Finn Foundation also created a slideshow for young people to learn the facts about healthy relationships, which has been promoted by Sayville High School, and was sent to every superintendent across Long Island on Finn’s birthday.
At the run/walk, raffles for over a dozen baskets, along with Emily Finn Foundation merchandise were sold to raise money for their cause, with the top runners receiving awards for their age brackets. Some runners and walkers included community members who never met Finn, but learned her story after her death, and are committed to preventing similar acts of violence from happening again.
“I think about Emily all the time,” said walker Barbara Gozaloff. “I have a 16 year old, so to leave a pamphlet around the house, it sparks conversation.”
Gozaloff said she didn’t know the Finn family before the young dancer’s death, but that positive-minded community events allow conversations to start.
“It’s important to raise awareness about The Emily Finn Foundation and make sure that these girls know how to speak up when they need to seek help,” said runner and Sayville School District teacher Emma Acevedo, who brought around 10 members of the girl’s field hockey team to the run/walk.
Acevedo, despite not teaching Finn, said her colleagues who did know the teenager said she was always great and helpful.
“It’s hard that it happened, but the one good thing about this community is that everyone has each other’s backs, and then they’re gonna do everything that they need to raise awareness, which is why Sayville’s such a special place,” Acevedo said.
To further achieve Finn’s dream of teaching young people, the Emily Finn Foundation also launched its arts enrichment program, “After School With Miss Emily,” which includes dance, cooking, band, and ceramics classes for elementary school students through December.
“It all came together very organically with a lot of hard work,” said Miller-Finn. “She just keeps getting all the right people in the right places, and the most amazing things are happening.”
The Emily Finn Foundation will host its inaugural gala in Finn’s memory on Nov. 29 at the Bourne Mansion.
Miller-Finn said the foundation is open to all feedback, and is already seeing young people embrace their message and take their initiatives seriously, which is doing exactly what her daughter wanted to achieve in life.
“I keep saying she wanted to teach children, and she is,” Miller-Finn said. “She’s speaking to a whole generation of kids.”
For more information visit www.emilyfinnfoundation.org.
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