coronavirus long island

Coronavirus News: Local heroes on Long Island honored for volunteer work during pandemic

ByLucy Yang WABC logo

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Local heroes honored for volunteer work during COVID crisis

Several local heroes on Long Island were honored for their volunteer work during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

BALDWIN, Long Island (WABC) -- Several local heroes on Long Island were honored for their volunteer work during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zhanna Weinstein has volunteered more than 1,100 hours as an EMT during the COVID crisis this summer while still attending nursing school.

"I'm home. I wake up in the middle of the night anyway, why not just keep going with it," Weinstein said.

As an EMT, she shows compassion to her patients and her peers, and has a tremendous amount of pride in whatever she does.

The FDNY came to the rescue of two construction workers who became stuck hanging from the 10th floor of a building when their scaffolding gave out.

On Tuesday night, this 25-year-old, along with more than a dozen other Long Island residents, were recognized by their local Nassau County legislator Debra Mule, for going above and beyond while the pandemic wreaked havoc on all our lives.

During the time of COVID, John Carey assisted the ministry's food pantry week after week, to pick up food donations, bring them to the parish and organize the food pantry.

Carey, a retired educator, volunteered at his local food pantry to help the increasing number of families put dinner on the table.

And Nick LaBorne, who is an ABC studio manager by day and a critical volunteer by night.

Thanks to his 'can do' spirit, he made sure the Freeport Fire Department and Village Hall were properly sanitized and that workers were kept safe.

He started procuring protective gear long before demand surged and supplies dropped.

"I have the best of both worlds. I work in TV, at ABC News, and i can also be a firefighter," LaBorne said. "I just love what I do."

These are not the heroes who make headlines or win medals, but they make a huge difference in their communities.

WATCH: Eyewitness to a Pandemic

Jim Dolan begins our story at the end of last year, as hundreds of thousands pack into Times Square to ring in 2020. Unbeknownst to us, a health crisis that would make such a mass gathering illegal and deadly, transform daily life, kill tens of thousands of our neighbors and cripple the economy was already forming in China.