27East.com | Dan Stark | Sep 30, 2026
The East End Fund for Children and Citarella gathered on Tuesday afternoon at Citarella East Hampton for a closing ceremony to celebrate the conclusion of the 2026 fundraising season for the coalition, in which they raised $152,475.
The fund is a coalition of eight East End nonprofit organizations that provide resources like mental health support, food, counseling, affordable childcare, education and recreational programming to more than 3,500 local children each week.
The group’s member organizations are the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, the Children’s Museum of the East End. East End Hospice’s Camp Good Grief, the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, i-tri, Project MOST, the Retreat and the Southampton Youth Association.
Though not an official coalition member, Citarella has been a key supporter, raising funds through its locations in Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Southampton and Westhampton Beach that support the work of the fund’s member organizations. The locations have sold reusable shopping bags designed by children from the programs, of which 100 percent of the proceeds have gone to the fund. Customers are also asked if they would like to round up the cost of their purchases to go to the fund.
Of the funds that were raised this summer, $146,704.46 came from customers rounding up the cost of their purchases, while $5,770.17 came from tote bag sales. Since the fund’s inception, $736,325.89 has been raised.
