Mayor's Message: Continuing to Help your Neighbors - a Covid-19 Act of Kindness #19
Posted on: May 14, 2020 - 8:00pm
Hi everyone,
Please read the letter below and contribute if you can …
My best to all of you,
Nicola Armacost
Mayor
Message from Pam Koner of Family-to-Family
To all our wonderful donors/neighbors,
Well – the long haul just keeps getting longer – and we are finding the anxiety level of the families we are helping is rising. A number of our families have asked if there is any way our Family-to-Family Covid-19 program can continue over the summer months and we are hoping we can say a resounding YES!!
We have raised $56,000 and since we launched we have been spending $4,000 a week – $1,000 to keep the pantry stocked and $3,000 in grocery store gift cards for between 70 and 80 families.
We’ve spent approx. $27,000 to date which means we have $29,000 remaining. That $29,000 will take us through to June 26, 2020.
We need to keep our assistance to these families going at least through the summer months – though to discontinue at any time in the next 6-8 months will be a hardship for many.
FYI...37+ families visited the HoH Food Pantry this week where non-perishable groceries came from Amazon and Foodtown, and meat and fresh produce from the Farmers Market – all purchased with funds provided by You! $50 Foodtown gift cards were, as they have been each week, distributed to families with kids in our district who are qualified for the free/reduced lunch program – your donated funds are supplementing the district’s program and providing funds for breakfast foods and snacks.
So…I know it’s a BIG ask – but I’m asking… Please help us get to $75,000 – that will insure we can meet the needs of our families in need until school opens at the earliest!
History of the initiative from the Family-to-Family website:
While we have met our original goal, it has become quite evident that we are in for a longer haul than expected. Please continue to donate – we need to be prepared for a new wave of families and senior citizens in need of groceries from our local food pantry for weeks and possibly months to come.
UPDATE: Week #2 of our Gift Card distribution!
We dropped fifty $50 gift cards off at the district office today!
The Food Pantry is open by appointment today and we’ve purchased fifty $25 gift cards to Foodtown for our pantry families to purchase their perishable items – so great to see this all in action. Special thanks to Foodtown for making this all so easy for us!!
NEWS: Our first group of fifty-six $50 gift cards have been distributed to Hastings families with children in the reduced/free lunch meals program. There were tears of gratitude I'm told and we thank all who have donated for making this happen. We intend to keep this going for the duration!!
ALERT: We are still fundraising, as another need has been shared with us – our senior citizens in need. We’ve been asked if we can help provide the funds for a weekly Breakfast Box of groceries for any senior that needs one filled with eggs, milk, bread, oatmeal etc. We hope these Breakfast Boxes will help meet the nutritional needs of our seniors during this stressful time.
Additionally, we have 20+ senior citizens dependent on a daily lunch meal delivery from Meals on Wheels and we are told funds to provide those meals are running thin. Traditionally, the funds for the meals ($3. per day per senior) have come out of the Hastings Senior Outreach program's – but they are dwindling as other senior needs during this crisis present themselves.
So...we are asking you to please help us spread the word, donate again if you can and share our plea through your social network – our new goal is $50,000. And we need your help to meet that goal.
As we all learn to navigate this new reality, we want to remember that for the families with kids in our town who rely on free and reduced-price meals, these school closures are more than an inconvenience: they're an emergency. Luckily for us, the issue of food insecurity for the more financially vulnerable kids in Hastings is one we can actually do something about, right now.
Family-to-Family, Inc. is raising funds to support and assist our Hastings-on-Hudson neighbors struggling to put food on their tables during the Coronavirus crisis. The funds raised here will:
1. Provide $50 gift cards for as long as school is closed, to Hastings school children and their families receiving free or reduced-price lunches. This will supplement funds allotted by the school district.
2. Keep the Hastings Food Pantry shelves stocked with food items, cleaning products, personal hygiene products, paper goods, diapers, and more.
3. Provide $25 gift cards to families in need and seniors for perishable foods not available at the pantry.
4. Provide Breakfast Boxes and Meals On Wheels lunches for senior citizens.
Your valuable donation will help ensure that our students in need and their families are supported during this time. Any unused funds will be donated to the Hastings Food Pantry for future use. The Hastings Food Pantry is available to anyone in need and no one will be turned away, including those in need from other villages.
Please stay safe, and please donate now to support our Hastings neighbors during this challenging time.
**Family-to-Family, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit hunger and poverty relief organization dedicated to providing food, personal hygiene products and other basic life essentials to American families struggling with the challenges of poverty. For more information about Family-to-Family, Inc., visit here: https://www.family-to-family.org/.
UPDATE: Week #2 of our Gift Card distribution!
We dropped fifty $50 gift cards off at the district office today!
The Food Pantry is open by appointment today and we’ve purchased fifty $25 gift cards to Foodtown for our pantry families to purchase their perishable items – so great to see this all in action. Special thanks to Foodtown for making this all so easy for us!!
NEWS: Our first group of fifty-six $50 gift cards have been distributed to Hastings families with children in the reduced/free lunch meals program. There were tears of gratitude I'm told and we thank all who have donated for making this happen. We intend to keep this going for the duration!!
ALERT: We are still fundraising, as another need has been shared with us – our senior citizens in need. We’ve been asked if we can help provide the funds for a weekly Breakfast Box of groceries for any senior that needs one filled with eggs, milk, bread, oatmeal etc. We hope these Breakfast Boxes will help meet the nutritional needs of our seniors during this stressful time.
Additionally, we have 20+ senior citizens dependent on a daily lunch meal delivery from Meals on Wheels and we are told funds to provide those meals are running thin. Traditionally, the funds for the meals ($3. per day per senior) have come out of the Hastings Senior Outreach program's – but they are dwindling as other senior needs during this crisis present themselves.
So...we are asking you to please help us spread the word, donate again if you can and share our plea through your social network – our new goal is $50,000. And we need your help to meet that goal.
As we all learn to navigate this new reality, we want to remember that for the families with kids in our town who rely on free and reduced-price meals, these school closures are more than an inconvenience: they're an emergency. Luckily for us, the issue of food insecurity for the more financially vulnerable kids in Hastings is one we can actually do something about, right now.
Family-to-Family, Inc. is raising funds to support and assist our Hastings-on-Hudson neighbors struggling to put food on their tables during the Coronavirus crisis. The funds raised here will:
1. Provide $50 gift cards for as long as school is closed, to Hastings school children and their families receiving free or reduced-price lunches. This will supplement funds allotted by the school district.
2. Keep the Hastings Food Pantry shelves stocked with food items, cleaning products, personal hygiene products, paper goods, diapers, and more.
3. Provide $25 gift cards to families in need and seniors for perishable foods not available at the pantry.
4. Provide Breakfast Boxes and Meals On Wheels lunches for senior citizens.
Your valuable donation will help ensure that our students in need and their families are supported during this time. Any unused funds will be donated to the Hastings Food Pantry for future use. The Hastings Food Pantry is available to anyone in need and no one will be turned away, including those in need from other villages.
Please stay safe, and please donate now to support our Hastings neighbors during this challenging time.
**Family-to-Family, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit hunger and poverty relief organization dedicated to providing food, personal hygiene products and other basic life essentials to American families struggling with the challenges of poverty. For more information about Family-to-Family, Inc., visit here: https://www.family-to-family.org/.
Pam Koner | Executive Director
Office: (914) 478-2641 | Cell: (914) 391-3220 | Fax: 914-290-4579
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead