Sachem Alum Launches Rose Brucia Educational Foundation, Hopes to Make National Impact

When 11-year-old Carlie Brucia was abducted and murdered in Sarasota, Fla. in 2004, her older cousin Matthew Barbis watched his family undergo the most difficult of pain.

It quickly became a highly publicized story, especially since it was the first abduction caught on camera. Carlie was on the way home from a friend's house and took a short cut behind a car wash.

"You get this helpless feeling," he recalled.

Then immediately that ceased. He turned the emptiness from the family's loss into a positive revolution that has steamrolled into major developments over the last six years, including the formation of the Rose Brucia Foundation, named after his grandmother, but meant to honor the memory of Carlie.

"I just started thinking, 'what can I do?" said Barbis, 38, a Sachem alum from the Class of 1989, and resident of Holbrook.

He's a retirement investment specialist who owns Matthew Barbis & Co. based in Hauppauge, but he also has a strapping interest in martial arts. The thought of preventing abductions and wrongful deaths crossed his mind often, so even the slightest bit of help – teaching a class, spreading the word of defense – he figured could be beneficial.

After teaming with Good Samaritan Hospital to launch the Stranger Safety Program, he had a well-known organization to support his goals. Next, he went to Suffolk County Exec. Steve Levy for his support, and received an open-arm endorsement throughout the entire county. 

"Once he did that, there were no barriers from getting into any school district," said Barbis, who added that the foundation speaks in 35 districts and has presented at over 40 private institutions across New York.

The foundation utilizes puppet shows written by the Community Health Department of Good Samaritan Hospital and self-defense techniques to preach about abductions. Each puppet presentation is 10 minutes long with a brief, live action self-defense demonstration and awareness activity. The child safety presentation specializes in packing vital information into a short series of segments and utilizes puppetry developed by the Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission.

They took a major step this year, having Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the Town of Islip announce that August 22 is Stranger Safety Day. They'll have a ceremony at the Long Island Ducks game in Central Islip that night and will hand out coloring books, and DNA kits. Barbis is awaiting confirmation from New York City and New York State for the same honor, and said Aug. 22, 2011 will be National Stranger Safety Day.

Next year a DVD will be released, making the entire effort packed with goodies for everyone to learn from.

Barbis made it clear that if your children's school does not participate in this program, to call him directly at 631-234-4467 and visit the Rose Brucia Foundation's Website.