CELEBRATIONS
Stratford family: ‘Way more support than we expected’
Miku Sushi creates special menu to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
GREENWICH — Restaurateurs K Dong and Chef Steve Chen, the owners of Miku Sushi on Greenwich Avenue, last year donated over $10,000 to local nonprofit organizations, including Kids in Crisis, Neighbor to Neighbor, Breast Cancer Alliance, Metro New York North Red Cross, the Bruce Museum, Lights to the Avenue and more.
This month, Miku Sushi has relaunched its campaign to support nonprofits by helping St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Each month a special menu is created by the Miku team, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of these dishes benefit the selected partner.
“Last year was so challenging, my team and I worked so hard to stay afloat, and aside from still being open I feel so fortunate that we had the ability to continue our community impact campaign that launched last February,” said K Dong.
“My team really enjoys being able to share our nonprofit partners with customers, we’ve learned so much about the community and what really matters to our customers. Greenwich is truly unique and we’re grateful for being a part of the community. Especially during a time like this.”
The nonprofit partnership menu features several dishes, including Miracle, which is spicy toro with oshiko inside, topped with avocado and ikura; Dish of Hope, which is live scallops baked with butter garlic, mushrooms and corn, topped with cheese and tobiko; Gratitude, which is a wagyu beef sandwich, light tempura, A5 wagyu beef with chef’s special sauce and served on a compact smoking cloche; and for dessert, the Miku matcha layer cake served with vanilla ice cream titled, Sweet.
Customers nominate the nonprofit partners for the fundraising campaign, and this month’s nomination came from Tina McCann.
“We have been loyal customers since MIKU first opened in Greenwich,” said McCann. “We’ve always admired their commitment to giving back. We’re thrilled to see them supporting the lifesaving work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the month of February. While visiting the hospital we had the opportunity to see firsthand the importance of our fundraising efforts.”
McCann introduced the organization to the Miku team last summer.
“The research taking place at St. Jude is helping to increase survival rates for pediatric cancer here in our community and around the world. No family ever pays St. Jude for treatment, housing or travel, making support like Miku’s critical to the work at the hospital,” said Marilena Greig, a St. Jude advisory board member.
To learn more about Miku, visit mikugreenwich.com.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. For more information, visit stjude.org.
Greenwich student earns degree at Georgia Tech
George Germanakos, of Greenwich, has earned a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Germanakos was among 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students who earned their degrees during the fall 2020 semester.
Local students earn honors at colleges
Alice Belshaw, of Greenwich, has been named to the Dean’s List at the University of the South for the fall 2020 term. To earn this distinction, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.625. The University of the South, known as Sewanee, is located in Sewanee, Teen.
Willow Wolfe, from Riverside, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2020 semester at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y.
Gloria Maria Guardado, of Greenwich, was named to the fall 2020 Dean’s List at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y. To qualify for this academic honor, a student at New York Tech must earn a GPA of at least 3.5.
Grace DeLoe, of Greenwich, excelled during the fall 2020 semester, achieving a GPA of at least 3.5 to earn a spot on the Dean’s List at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
Lily Lombardi, of Greenwich, a marine science major, earned a spot on the President’s List at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., by achieving a 4.0 GPA for the fall semester.
Williston Northampton School announces local students on Honor Roll
The Williston Northampton School, a coeducational boarding and day school in Easthampton, Mass., announced that two local students made the Honor Roll for the first trimester of the 2020-21 academic year.
The honored students are Stephen Sergio, of Greenwich, a post-graduate student who achieved Honors; and Sonia Whitman, of Greenwich, a Grade 12 student who achieved High Honors.
Students earning High Honors are required to earn a grade point average of 92. Students earning Honors are required to earn a grade point average of 87.
STRATFORD — Bernard Jeanty turned 46 Friday, but spent his birthday consulting with doctors instead of celebrating with family.
The Stratford resident and father of three has been a patient at Stamford Hospital for more than two weeks since a crash on the Merritt Parkway forced doctors to amputate his right leg above the knee.
People who heard about the accident and its aftermath and members of Jeanty’s church have stepped up to try to help a man described as a good man and strong church goer.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family — Jeanty; his wife, Wilda; daughters Darlyne, 25, and Beverly, 17; and a son, Giovanny, 16 — had raised $22,595 of a goal of $65,000 as of Friday.
“We’ve gotten way more support than we expected,” said Wadline Emmanuel, a niece who lives with them.
Jeanty, an Uber driver, was headed north on his way home about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 4 when he stopped to give a jump start to a vehicle that had broken down on the side of the road near Exit 31 in Greenwich, according to police reports at the time.
Jeanty was returning to his Toyota Highlander after rendering assistance when two approaching vehicles collided with each other, then with Jeanty, his vehicle and the one he had just jump-started, police said.
No other injuries were reported. State police are investigating. No charges have been filed.
Jeanty was rushed to the hospital for treatment — but his family initially had no idea what had happened to him, Emmanuel said.
Worried, the family reported Jeanty’s absence to the police.
“Eventually the cops came by and told us he was in Stamford Hospital,” Emmanuel said.
She said the family has been visiting as much as possible.
“He’s still going through a lot of surgeries right now,” Emmanuel said.
The absence of a breadwinner has hit the family hard.
“He did everything for us,” Emmanuel, 20, said.
It’s unclear when Jeanty will get out of the hospital, but whenever it is, he’ll have to undergo extensive rehabilitation and physical therapy, his family said.
The family moved to Stratford from Bridgeport 12 years ago.
Friends from the French-Speaking Baptist Church of Bridgeport, where the family worships, have also stepped up.
The support has been “very, very, very helpful,” Emmanuel said. “This morning, a few of the people from his church actually came over to clean the snow from our driveway.”
Jeanty’s best friend, Joe Roche, said Jeanty would do the same for his own family whenever Roche’s truck-driving job drew him away.
“I’d call and let him know,” Roche said. “He’d come and help my wife clean out.”
Roche said he befriended Jeanty through the church, which serves the area’s Haitian community.
Jeanty is an usher and also sings in the choir.
“He’s just very churchoriented,” Emmanuel said. “He does everything in the church.”
“He’s a very good guy, always trying to help people,” Roche said. “He’s my brother. It’s just so hard for me.”