Family and friends gathered at Kaitlyn Doorhy’s alma mater, Mattituck High School, Friday night, as the first meeting of Kait’s Angels was held to organize, plan, and remember the young woman who left a lifelong legacy with her bright smile and giving heart.
Kait’s Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed to honor Kaitlyn with acts of kindness in her memory.
The kick-off event included a history and an overview of the structure of the organization, goals, fundraising plans, and upcoming events.
Still needed are committee members; if anyone has an interest in joining the group or becoming a committee member, information is available on the Kait’s Angels website.
Friday night, laughing and sharing memories, the group put together“Kait‘s Kits” member packs. The 10-piece kit contains a T-shirt, bracelet, mug and other items in exchange for a minimum $50 donation, and will serve as the first fundraising endeavor.
Next week, to celebrate Kait’s 21st birthday, the group will host designer handbag Wingo on June 12 at Ospreys Dominion Vineyard in Peconic, with a special champagne toast in her honor. A poker run will take place on July 26, with online registration beginning the first week in June. Information on all events is available on the Kait’s Angels website.
“This is a great way to get everyone involved that remembers Kait,” said Timothy Bialeski, vice-president of Kait’s Angels. “This gets the ball rolling.”
Bialeski is organizing a concert fundraiser to benefit Kait’s Angels, which will be held in the fall.
William Araneo, president of Kait’s Angels, said the group seeks to honor Kait’s beautiful life. “We’re trying to provide a legacy for a young woman who made a big impression on a lot of people,” he said.
Plans include installing Buddy Benches, just like the one placed at Cutchogue East Elementary School in Kait’s memory, in schools across the East End and beyond. “I think it would make Kait happy to provide comfort to young people who might be lonely and need a friend,” Araneo said.
Reflecting on the nine months since Kait died in a tragic accident while away at college, Araneo said, “The pain will stay with me forever. I will never forget her.”
Sharon Demopoulos, helping other Kait’s Angels members to fold brochures and stuff bags, said, “This is what Kait’s Angels is about, helping each other. We’re just doing Kait’s work.”
Speaking to the group, Araneo said life has changed dramatically in the past nine months. “Tomorrow is not guaranteed,” he said.
Looking ahead to the good work Kait’s Angels intends to do, Araneo said, “A wise man once told me the best exercise for the heart is to reach down and pull someone up. We’re in this together.”
Of Kait, he said, “While there continues to be an empty chair, she continues to be a force. She’s the best of us. We feel her presence every day.”
Members said every time they find a dime, they know Kait is with them; a large jar of dimes sits by her gravesite.
Funds will also be used to help send high school students who might not have the means, to college, and to create programs where young people can learn life skills. Kait’s Angels will also recruit young people, teaching them “it’s cool to be kind,” said one member.
The non-profit group was first announced in November; a Facebook page and website were unveiled.
“Angel Acts”, random acts of kindness to touch the lives of others, as well as events to help those in need, are the goals of the group. Kait’s Angels will feature youth programs, with an eye toward imbuing young people with positive values such as honesty, responsibility, compassion, positivity, ambition, productivity and kindness, traits that shone through in Kaitlyn.
Cards were distributed that individuals can use to pass on the random acts of kindness.
The group’s “Fork it Forward” initiative is campaign that partners up with a different small local business every month to “spread a little joy and a message of random generosity to individual people in our community. Every month a local business, such as a local pizza shop, coffee shop, or small restaurant, with the help of Kait’s Angels, will ‘fork it forward,’” according to the Kait’s Angels website.
The hope is that other communities will start their own chapters of Kait’s Angels.
“This organization is something that not only helps her close friends and family but others from the community and all over as well,” said Brittany Tumulty, Kait’s friend an an organizer of the group. “We needed to do this because she had so much passion and was going to accomplish every goal she wanted, so by having ‘Kait’s Angels,’ we can almost continue her legacy and help others realize their full potential along the way.”
Those wishing to become an “Angel” can do so for free by filling out an application on the site. For additional information, contact info@kaitsangels.org.
Kaitlyn, 20, died in August from injuries sustained after being hit by a car near her college, Sacred Heart University.
Last fall, a sea of those who loved the former Mattituck Strawberry Queen flocked to Sacred Heart, where a football game was played in her honor during the school’s Family Weekend.
Sacred Heart University also announced that the H.W. Wilson Foundation has given $100,000 to Sacred Heart University to establish an endowed scholarship in memory of Kaitlyn.
