Neil's Wheels NY

Students holding food they collected at a Neil's Wheels school food drive.

Remembering Neil

Neil Barber was a popular and outstanding athlete at Manhasset High School and Canterbury Prep School. At 16, as a rising lacrosse star, he became ill and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. He lived with the illness for more than 25 years.

Neil faced his illness with courage and never complained. He always helped people less fortunate than himself. He passed away peacefully at age 45 from complications of pneumonia, and Neil's Wheels continues his work.

Why we started Neil's Wheels

Greg Barber and Bob Rule, a Hall of Fame lacrosse player and longtime Manhasset coach, started Neil's Wheels in 2009 with four goals: to encourage middle school students to talk about their problems, to talk with families affected by mental illness, to end the stigma attached to mental illness, and to raise food for hungry families.

Port Washington students walking to support people living with mental illness.

Kids helping kids

Over the years, Neil's Wheels worked with schools in Manhasset, Port Washington and New Hyde Park. Students ran food drives and talked openly about mental illness, and a short film made with Manhasset Middle School students was shown in health classes.

A Neil's Wheels collection at Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

Feeding families on Long Island

Neil's Wheels has donated more than 100,000 cans and boxes of food to hungry families. Collections went to Long Island Cares and the Gerald Ryan Outreach Center, with drives held in Manhasset, Port Washington, Huntington and Northport. You can help today by giving to a local food bank such as Long Island Cares.

Get in touch

To share a memory of Neil or ask about Neil's Wheels, call or text Greg Barber at (973) 224-1132. You can also follow Neil's Wheels on Facebook.