LEVITTOWN, NY — An Island Trees High School senior is honoring one of his best friends who died in a crash four years ago.
The Andrew Alati Foundation was created as a fundraiser, “helping those less fortunate through a variety of fundraising efforts and events,” the website states.
Liam Wells is keeping his friend’s memory alive.
“We were close since kindergarten,” Wells, 18, told Patch.
His first fundraising effort was in the 11th grade, organizing a drive to sell $2 bracelets. As a senior, Wells and a group of friends sold towels at sporting events with the foundation’s logo on them. The drives raised a combined $1,500.
Alati was killed in June 2019 when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle. Thoughts of Alati are coming back to the surface as this summer would have been his Island Trees graduation.
“He was the most fun kid you could be around,” Wells said. “I just remember a lot of laughter.”
After Alati and Wells (with another friend) saw Toy Story 4 in the theater, a sad ending didn’t deter Alati.
“He just got up and started dancing,” Wells recalled. “Everyone started looking at him, but that’s the kind of kid he was. He just wanted to make people happy.”
That legacy of making people happy is at the heart of the Andrew Alati Foundation, a registered 501 (c)(3), not-for-profit organization focused on providing aid for families.
Even though Wells is preparing for school in the fall, he wants to continue the fundraising in the name of his friend, perhaps a bake sale.
“It makes me happy that people are still remembering him,” Wells said.
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