THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 1, AT BETHPAGE STARBUCKS FROM NOON TO 3 P.M.
 
 (BETHPAGE, NY) An opportunity to enjoy three hours of great family fun and entertainment, sample top-notch beverages and snacks, win valuable prizes, help a worthy cause and learn more about a serious disorder that affects hundreds of thousands of young people across America will be jointly presented by the Long Island Chapter of the Tourette Syndrome Association (LI-TSA) and the Bethpage Starbucks Coffee House (located at 205 Stewart Ave.) this Sunday, June 1, 2008, from 12 noon to 3 p.m.

The Carnival-like event - - which coincides with the May 15 – June 15 period being National Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month throughout the U.S. - - will feature an array of activities specifically designed for children, including games, balloons, arts and crafts, book reading, chalk art and much more. Three baskets of Starbucks’ products, provided by Starbucks of Bethpage, will be raffled off, while the coffee house also will donate funds that match the amount of money raised by the charity itself during the three-hour function.  The proceeds from the event will benefit the Long Island Tourette Syndrome’s education advocacy initiative, school programs, social groups and parent/teacher medical information initiatives.

The fundraiser is the brainchild of Lana Bazer of Massapequa, NY, a recent graduate of Farmingdale University who works at the Bethpage Starbucks.  Her mother, Ivy Bazer, serves on the Long Island Tourette Syndrome Association staff as its art therapist.  More than a dozen adult volunteers and youth ambassadors from the LI-TSA are expected to be on-hand at the “Carnival,” handing out informational brochures and speaking on behalf of Tourette Syndrome. 

About Tourette Syndrome & The LI Chapter of the Tourette Syndrome Association
Tourette Syndrome, which is defined by multiple motor and vocal tics lasting for more than one year, is a neurological disorder which generally becomes evident in early childhood or adolescence before the age of 18 years.  The first symptoms usually are involuntary movements (tics) of the face, arms, limbs or trunk.  These tics are frequent, repetitive and rapid.  The most common first symptom is a facial tic (eye blink, nose twitch, grimace), and is replaced or added to by other tics of the neck, trunk and limbs. These involuntary (outside the patient’s control) tics may also be complicated, involving the entire body, such as kicking and stamping. Many persons report what are described as premonitory urges - - the urge to perform a motor activity.  Other symptoms such as touching, repetitive thoughts and movements and compulsions can occur.  There are also verbal tics.  These verbal tics (vocalizations), which include grunting, throat clearing, shouting and barking, usually occur with the movements.  The verbal tics may also be expressed as coprolalia (the involuntary use of obscene words or socially inappropriate words and phrases) or copropraxia (obscene gestures).      
 
Volunteers run the Long Island Chapter of the Tourette Syndrome Association (LI-TSA). Their mission is to provide help (at the community level) to families affected by Tourette Syndrome by providing support groups, newsletters, conferences, chapter meetings, chapter events, social events, medical and professional referrals, school advocacy by trained staff development volunteers, discounts for members on conference fees and local events and discounts on relevant publications, books and videos to its members in Nassau and Suffolk counties.  For further information about Tourette Syndrome and the services available to individuals affected by it, call the Long Island Tourette Syndrome Association at 516-876-6947. 
 
For additional details about this special event, media should contact Ira H. Silverman or Erica Quagliata of Silverman Media&Marketing Group at 516-495-5280 on Fri., May 30, and 516-633-1657 over the weekend.

###