Events

Lonnie J. Sherman is both the Founder and President of General Needs. His path to these positions have their origin in Lonnie’s charitable endeavors.

Having been in insurance and financial planning industry for 30 years, Lonnie has worked in all facets from Sales, Recruiter, Trainer, Sales Manager and General Agent for the major firms such as John Hancock, MassMutual, MetLife and Guardian Life Insurance. His success is due to his commitment to serving his clients with honesty and integrity.

Throughout his career, Lonnie has devoted time and efforts to several charitable organizations in addition to serving on the advisory board of Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Lonnie is an avid New York Yankee fan and was present on October 18, 1977 for Reggie Jackson’s 3 homeruns during Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. He is also a percussionist and played in a Latin band performing in New York City and Queens venues. Lonnie is most proud of his family, Susan, his wife and sons Andrew, Michael and Ryan, all of whom have been instrumental in supporting General Needs.

General Needs focuses on helping thousands of homeless Long Island Veterans and their families through your charitable donations and support.  Our Mission focuses on providing the basic necessities that are missing in the everyday lives of our homeless veterans.  We do over 4,300 distributions for veterans per year.

Donna Celentano has been a nurse for 34 years in many different roles. She has dedicated her career in the ICU, Maternal Child settings. Donna has helped implement, facilitate, support, and advocate for woman struggling with perinatal moods. She has been an advocate to many friends and family members dealing with medical treatment, health challenges, medical crisis's, translation of medical terminology, and collaboration of health care among providers. There is such a need and the Board which is made up of three experienced RN's, one MD, and two educators, works together to educate, give knowledge and understanding to the patient/caregiver/loved ones in need. They gather important information and pose questions that need to be asked when patients visit their healthcare provider. All of this is done for free.

Bill Kiley is a retired Deputy Police Chief and also a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Bill resides on Long Island, New York, with his wife of forty-eight years, Kathy. Among his academic credentials, Bill Kiley holds two Master of Science degrees, is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and also the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Mr. Kiley has been an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice at Suffolk County Community College and at Long Island University. He is a Past President of the International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. Bill has been a presenter and conducted training throughout the United States, Canada, and in Dubai (UAE). Additionally, Bill Kiley is the Past President of the New York State and Eastern Canada Chapter of the F.B.I. National Academy Associates. Mr. Kiley has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions throughout his various professional careers.

As the grandfather of five granddaughters, Bill knows the powerful impact that children’s picture books can have on young minds. So, at seventy years of age, motivated by his heart and his head, Mr. Kiley decided to write a children’s picture book that addresses the plight of refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world. His book, Hope and Freckles: Fleeing to a Better Forest, is the first of a planned series.

Debra E. Blaine, was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island, NY. She received her BA in the Honors Liberal Arts Program at the University of Texas at Austin, before going on for graduate studies in Comparative Religion at Temple University. She attended Baylor College of Medicine to earn her MD in 1987, and has practiced medicine on Long Island and Queens for thirty years.
Her first novel, "CODE BLUE: The Other End of the Stethoscope", is a medical thriller and a love story about Russian hackers stealing patient information from electronic medical records, and murdering patients for millions of dollars. This fictional murder mystery is set in a real-life, corporate-run urgent care clinic, and vividly reveals the challenges that physicians now face in the current, greed-infected healthcare industry, whose priority is profit over health.
She is also a Certified Professional Coach and serves medical and other professionals working in the impersonal corporate world to find and pursue their passions. She offers individual and group sessions.
Dr. Blaine has been published in medical forums, including KevinMD and Doximity, interviewed by Medscape and the Brazilian newspaper, The Falho de São Paulo, and has been featured in articles in HealthNewsDigest. She continues to work as a physician in the Long Island urgent care medical community on a part-time basis.
She can be reached through her website, DebraBlaine.com.

Lonnie J. Sherman is both the Founder and President of General Needs. His path to these positions have their origin in Lonnie’s charitable endeavors.

Having been in insurance and financial planning industry for 30 years, Lonnie has worked in all facets from Sales, Recruiter, Trainer, Sales Manager and General Agent for the major firms such as John Hancock, MassMutual, MetLife and Guardian Life Insurance. His success is due to his commitment to serving his clients with honesty and integrity.

Throughout his career, Lonnie has devoted time and efforts to several charitable organizations in addition to serving on the advisory board of Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Lonnie is an avid New York Yankee fan and was present on October 18, 1977 for Reggie Jackson’s 3 homeruns during Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. He is also a percussionist and played in a Latin band performing in New York City and Queens venues. Lonnie is most proud of his family, Susan, his wife and sons Andrew, Michael and Ryan, all of whom have been instrumental in supporting General Needs.

General Needs focuses on helping thousands of homeless Long Island Veterans and their families through your charitable donations and support.  Our Mission focuses on providing the basic necessities that are missing in the everyday lives of our homeless veterans.  We do over 4,300 distributions for veterans per year.