James Funaro got all tied up with his project to raise funds for a worthy cause — the Long Island first-grader wore a tie for 300 straight days and raised $8,800.
“It’s a very good program,’’ the 7-year-old, now a second-grader said of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Suffolk County, for which he did the fund-raising.
The money he raised helped grant the wish of a little boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy to go to Hawaii.
“It felt really good to send him to Hawaii,’’ said James, of Nesconset, who loved wearing a tie all day, except that “it was annoying on windy days — it would flop in my face.’’
His 147 ties, many of them gifts from supporters, included a foam one made by his mom, Chimene, so he could wear it while swimming.
She nominated James for a New York Post Young Heart Liberty Medal.
It all began last fall, when James was getting dressed for his class picture day at school. He recalled saying to himself, “Here’s a good time to start getting fancy. Before that, I barely knew what a tie was.’’
He thought he’d try for a world record in tie-wearing, but in February switched to raising funds for charity. He knew about Make-A-Wish because it had granted wishes to a cousin and a preschool friend.
James is still looking for ways to help the nonprofit — and when he grows up, he plans to run for the White House.
“If I don’t get picked for president, I’m going to be a police officer so I can keep the country safe,’’ he said.