Hungry for Change Fall 2021 - Long Island Cares, Inc.

Fall 2021

“When in doubt, do something” — Harry Chapin

Make the Holidays Bright for a Family in Need

for

Adopt -a -Family October 1 – November 17

Long Island Cares, Inc.

The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank

A VetsWork Success Story Since 2018, donors have provided over 14,000 families with a Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year more than 100,000 pounds of food were provided to families in need.

This year our goal is to feed 5,000 families.

Adopt-a-Family today.

Visit our website to get a list of needed items and drop off locations.

It’s that easy!

Great opportunity for students!

Students who Adopt-a-Family and provide them with a full bag of food will be credited with one hour of community service. licares.org

Master Sergeant Melissa Pandolf (Ret.) has a good job. She has a great husband and incredible kids. Overall, life is pretty good. But it wasn't always that way.

In 2016, when Melissa retired from active military service, she had four young children and was having difficulty transitioning back into civilian life, paying bills, and feeding her family. A friend mentioned that Long Island Cares could help, so she decided to check it out.

“I'm where I am today because of Long Island Cares.”

She stopped in for Military Appreciation Tuesday, a Long Island Cares program that allows veterans and their families to pick up food each week at all of our locations compared to the usual oncea-month visits for clients.

While waiting her turn to shop for food, Long Island Cares' Veteran Life Skills Specialist, Fern Summer, approached her and asked to have a conversation. Little did she know her life was about to change forever…

“We started having a conversation, and she brought me to the conference room.

I was getting upset because I felt so lost.” Melissa said. “But she helped me put a resume together. She gave me all the various options. She mentored me on how to do an interview and how to get what you ask for.”

Over the next few weeks, Melissa met with Fern and worked her way through Long Island Cares' VetsWork program that helps veterans like her find gainful employment after returning to civilian life.

Through Fern's mentoring, Melissa got a job as a Service Officer at the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency, working

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A Message from our CEO

A Time of Remembrance & Thanks This summer, your generous support of “Harry’s Legacy Campaign” recognized Harry Chapin's untimely death 40 years ago and celebrated his passionate commitment towards ending hunger. Your gifts honored our founder's legacy, but they help Long Island Cares to address the root causes of hunger and seek solutions grounded in the power of our communities working together.

Long Island Cares is committed to developing and maintaining a diverse organization that reflects and embraces the diversity of the communities served throughout Long Island, respecting and valuing all people. People of any color, ethnicity or demographic background can experience food insecurity. But systemic racism and disparities in housing and employment drive poverty, and poverty is the single biggest driver of hunger.

To end hunger Long Island Cares must address the inclusion, diversity, equity, and access issues that plague our Island.

The new Long Island Cares Center for Community Engagement (CCE) is committed to promoting an inclusive, equitable, and accessible organization where every agency partner, community member, donor, volunteer, staff, and board member can realize their potential and have their contributions valued.

Long Island Cares and the CCE will confront systemic inequalities permeating our society and create hope to end

hunger. Because of you, Long Island Cares will be able to say we’ve moved the needle in the fight against hunger and food insecurity. This was Harry Chapin’s vision in 1980 when he founded Long Island Cares as our region’s first food bank.

Your gifts also allow Long Island Cares to meet the

Thank you for providing hope for a better future. challenges of the final months of 2021 and beyond head-on.

Through our network of 340+ member agency partners, we will safely and equitably reach the people who need us most.

With home delivery and mobile pantries, we are present for our most vulnerable communities, including seniors, veterans, and people who are homeless. You enable us to provide education, resources, and food to children, families, veterans, and allied organizations through Long Island Cares’ direct service programs.

As we look towards the end of the year, please remember that hunger doesn’t take a holiday. You share our vision of a hunger-free Long Island, and together we can make it happen.

Together we remain hungry for change.

Paule T. Pachter, ACSW, LMSW Chief Executive Officer, Long Island Cares, Inc.

Operations

Pressing Onward After COVID When COVID knocked Long Island Cares answered. Bob LaBarbara and our warehouse team kept the wheels moving.

“Our goal is to keep the food and supplies we provide readily available in the community,” said Mr. LaBarbara, Chief Procurement & Supply Chain Officer. In 2021, Bob increased the volume of items kept on hand in the warehouse to meet the high demand from our satellite locations. Equipment upgrades, including a new refrigeration unit, are also being considered to better serve our community.

Internally the warehouse is working to improve the availability of items and lead times by focusing on purchasing, inventory, and pickup/delivery schedules. “We are listening to what the agencies are asking for and reacting,” Bob said.

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Stay connected!

Development

From Client to Donor, Naomi’s Story Naomi is on a mission to feed Long Island. When her mother passed away six years ago, she took it upon herself to keep her mom's compassionate and giving spirit alive by raising funds for those in need. “Unfortunately, as a child, we did have to go to soup kitchens and food pantries. We just needed help from other people in order for my mother to take care of us,” said Naomi.

Operations

Volunteers are a Force of Good In 2012, Paul retired after teaching health and physical education at Bayshore Middle School for forty-two years.

He then felt like he lacked something, like he needed to be actively involved in helping people.

Then he found Long Island Cares.

After seeing an ad on television, Paul signed up to volunteer.

Nine years later, he's still here, fighting against hunger on Long Island, multiple days a week,.

“I feel motivated to go in and help every day,” Paul said. “I feel good being in there. As long as I'm healthy and I can give something back, I will.”

“Long Island Cares gives me a sense of purpose that I haven't had since retiring.

It makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile.”

While he works mainly in the warehouse, packing and sorting food, he also volunteers with the Long Island Cares mobile pantries that deliver fresh and nutritious foods to those in need. “I love seeing the people on the mobile pantry routes.

It's direct contact. In the warehouse, you're preparing things for people. This is like what you do in the warehouse, except you're seeing the other end of it.” he said.

Paul, like other volunteers, is here to be a force of good.

Want to volunteer with Long Island Cares? We’ve got lots of opportunities, and would love your help!

@LICares

Today Naomi hosts fundraisers for Long Island Cares to give back to those who are in the same position she found herself in years ago. “I'm excited to help other people because I know what it's like to be there and need the help and not have choices, and not know who to turn to or what I am actually able to get help with,” she said.

Her latest fundraiser provided over 400 meals to those in need across Long Island.

With schools reopening, Naomi is turning her efforts towards collecting school supplies, an often overlooked expense for Long Island families. “When it came to school supplies, I needed help. I had to figure out which bill is more important than the other, all without my son learning how much we were losing.”

Naomi is helping change the world for the better and making a real difference in the lives of ALL Long Islanders.

“When I've helped even just one person, it makes me happy to know that now this person doesn't have to go through what I went through, and I can help them.”

“… my mom always saw the positive side of everything. She wanted to make sure that we were grateful for everything that we had and made sure that one day we gave back to everyone who helped us.”

Tell us your giving story!

Have a great volunteering story? We want to hear it! Have a Harry Chapin story? We want to hear it!

Did a family member or a neighbor inspire you to give? We want to hear about it!

No matter your story, we’re glad you’re here with us, and we want to know more. Thank you for being a part of the fight against hunger – tell us how you got here!

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Programs

Exploring the Root Causes of Hunger at the Ground Level Since Long Island Cares first opened its doors in 1980, we've worked tirelessly to feed the need on Long Island. Our founder Harry Chapin fought every day to better the lives of all Long Islanders.

One of his primary goals for Long Island Cares was discovering the root causes of hunger, why people are hungry, and how to lift them out of a vicious cycle of poverty and food insecurity.

We are happy to announce that we have recently taken a significant step forward to further Harry's mission by opening our Long Island Cares Center for Community Engagement.

Located just down the road from our Hauppauge office, the CCE was created to provide a way for community members to explore the root causes of hunger in the same way that Long Island Cares has been for the last 41 years.

“This is an exciting time,” said Dr. Jessica Rosati, Chief Programs Officer. “[Groups] come here. They get an educational workshop, and then they'll volunteer in our warehouse. This way, they

can understand the connection between the tools they are given and why they are here.”

Workshops hosted by Long Island Cares such as New Paths to Achievement help Long Islanders achieve their career goals and allied organizations will partner with us to help educate the public on root causes of hunger.

“We know that unless you treat the root causes of hunger and poverty, people will remain impoverished.”

— Dr. Jessica Rosati, Chief Programs Officer “Right now, we are starting with what we know we do best,” said Dr. Rosati. “We know that unless you treat the root causes of hunger and poverty, people will remain impoverished. We want this building to be a hub for [our community]. We want people to come, get some good resources, then go turn their lives around.”

Promoting an Inclusive Community In 2014 Marina came to Long Island Cares as a single mother raising two daughters and with a limited grasp of English.

Seven years later, she's now a grandmother with three adorable grandchildren and works as a food service worker in the Huntington School District during the school year.

But she still needs help.

Today, Marina's entire family visits Long Island Cares once a month to collect food and household supplies like so many others in Nassau and Suffolk County.

“En Long Island Cares siempre hay una mano para ayudarte” “At Long Island Cares there is always a hand to help you” Her favorite part of visiting is the friendly staff. She enjoys speaking Spanish freely with bilingual staff members and always with a smile on their faces. “They treat me with dignity and respect, and I really appreciate that,” Marina said. Long Island Cares provides written information and referral services in Spanish, and ensures cultural foods like masa, lean proteins, familiar fruits and vegetables are available for distribution in the Hispanic and Latinx community.

“I've told all of my family and friends about Long Island Cares.” she said. “A lot of people are being helped. The entire community is being helped.”

Marina wants others who are also struggling on Long Island to know that they need not worry. “At Long Island Cares, there is always a hand to help you.”

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@long_island_cares

A VetsWork Success Story (continued from cover) alongside her fellow veterans. Now she gets to help over 85,000 vets like herself receive the benefits the government owes them.

“Five and a half years I'm here now. And it's directly because of VetsWork,” she said.

With a new career, a new outlook on life, and newfound inspiration from Long Island Cares, Melissa now has the tools to give back to her community outside of her military service.

“Every holiday season, my husband and I give out turkeys, whether it's the 106th Rescue Wing, the Farmingdale Reserve Center, or others. It's great, and we do a lot of events together.”

In her new occupation, Melissa now guides struggling vets down the same path she once walked. “Veterans don't like to ask for anything. They don't like to ask for help, but I always say, come, have a conversation with me. Let's see what we can do; you'd be surprised.”

Check out Long Island Cares’ services created especially for our veterans!

Development The end of the year is fast approaching and with it so is your opportunity to reduce your taxes.

Tax-Wise Charitable Planning Strategies There are charitable planning strategies that can help you lower your income and taxes this year.

Here are some ways you can shift tax dollars to charitable dollars and support Long Island Cares.

• IRA Charitable Rollover — Persons age 70 ½ or older can rollover up to $100,000 from their IRA to a qualified charity like ours. This may lower your income and taxes.

• Outright Gift of an Asset — make a gift of stock, real estate, or another asset, avoid paying capital gains tax on the transfer and receive a tax-saving charitable deduction.

• Donor Advised Fund (DAF) — make a tax-deductible gift to a DAF, which gives you the ability to make grants to your favorite charities this year and in future years.

• Zero-Tax Gift and Sale — make a gift of part of an investment or property you intend to sell, avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale and receive cash back.

We can help you create a plan that meets your needs and goals.

Contact Katherine M. Fritz at 631-582-3663 ext. 103 or email at kfritz@licares.org

Long Island Cares, Inc

Government | Vets

Long Island Cares Goes to Washington When Harry Chapin founded Long Island Cares, he didn't just want to feed Long Island. He wanted to eliminate the root causes of hunger and persuade the government to improve the lives of those affected by hunger.

“To know is to care, to care is to act, to act is to make a difference” — Harry Chapin The Chapin Center for Public Policy is the advocacy wing of Long Island Cares. Whether we are sending letters to elected officials, urging them to sign specific bills into law, or speaking on panels to inform the public about the most significant issues about hunger, Long Island Cares Government Affairs team advocates for long-term public policy solutions at the local, state, and federal levels.

Long Island Cares recently encouraged congress to pass the Military Hunger Prevention Act. “This bill is designed to create a basic needs allowance to help lowincome military families put food on the table,” said Michael Haynes, Chief Government Affairs Officer.

“Many service members do not qualify for federal food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because USDA counts their housing allowance as income. This flaw in the methodology forces many military families to visit their local food banks and food pantries for support.”

Along with making strides and passing legislation to eradicate the root causes of hunger, our government affairs team also works towards building relationships with both the Federal and State government. “Of the almost 18 million pounds distributed by Long Island Cares in 2020, 45% of the total came from our partnerships with the government,” said Michael.

Only by building relationships with the government can Long Island Cares continue to make an impact on the state and national levels. “We combine forces to advocate for legislation that seeks to eradicate the root causes of hunger and poverty,” You can also make a difference for your Long Island neighbors through advocacy. Only by working together can we eliminate hunger on Long Island once and for all.

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Agencies

Open Arms and Open Hearts For over 20 years, Open Arms Food Pantry in Riverhead has proudly served as one of the over 340+ member agencies that work with Long Island Cares.

“Long Island Cares has been a godsend for us,” said Zona Stroy, Pantry Coordinator. “… we get deliveries once or twice a month, we can send someone to Long Island Cares to pick things up for us to fill in the gaps between deliveries. We know that people depend on us, and we know we can depend on Long Island Cares. It's an extraordinary partnership.”

The ability to move food quickly from pantry to client is critical to Open Arms' success, which has seen a massive increase in food insecurity since the pandemic began last March.

“In the last six months, we have served over 400 households,” said Zona. “This year, we have seen about 50 households every day. We also have lots of clients that you would not expect to need help. But they all know that we are here for them.”

Feeding that many people is no simple task, but with their commitment to building a sense of community along with a set of hard-working volunteers, they meet the need.

HAVE YOU NOTICED? Your grocery bill has likely gone up! Long Island Cares has also seen a rise in the cost to purchase food – almost 30% since 2019. But every $10 you donate provides 11 meals to Hungry Long Island families!

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“[Our volunteers] come from all backgrounds,” said Zona. “The people who come to us as clients recognize that our volunteers can relate to their predicament. People know that we know some of their struggles because some of our volunteers have been there. I don't know all of our clients on a given day, but they know who we are, and that's what matters.”

Hatzilu Means Help!

A Long Island Cares member agency, Hatzilu Rescue Organization, cares for your Nassau neighbors in need.

What was created in 1976 as a small organization responding to the growing number of Jewish community members falling on hard times has grown into a full-fledged food and resource pantry. The pantry is now open to all, regardless of background or religion, but remains the largest kosher food pantry in Nassau county.

“We try to accommodate as much as we can. We don't ask if a family is kosher or not, but we make sure that we can provide kosher foods to those who need it,” said Dona, who works at the pantry.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hatzilu worked with various agencies to pinpoint Nassau county's hardesthit locations and reached out to those populations who may not have been struggling until this year.

“When they are stuck in quarantine, and they don't have enough food in the house, we can make an emergency delivery to them,” added Dona.

Long Island Cares helps stock Hatzilu with kosher products, but when they are not available, Long Island Cares provides Hatzilu with gift cards to help them purchase kosher products for their clients.

The sense of community at Hatzilu Rescue Organization is powerful. Over the years, they have become an essential tool in the community and a proud member agency in the fight against hunger on Long Island.

@LongIslandCares

The Kids are all right Age is Just a Number When You’re Making a Difference.

Allie is a lot like other sixth-graders. She enjoys hanging out with friends, going on vacations, and participating in the usual summer break activities. But she's also an aspiring author and, now, a humanitarian.

Earlier this year, she was struck by a bolt of inspiration while in school. “We were learning about youth activism, and I didn't just want to learn about what other people did but do something good myself,” Allie said.

So she took it upon herself to make a difference in the world. She'd always been a writer, typing up short stories for fun about a wide range of topics. This summer, however, she decided it was time to write for a cause.

She authored two short stories, The Plight of Playing and On Gold Road, set up a small sales booth on her neighborhood road, and quickly got to work selling copies for charity.

She recruited her friends, Eleni and Caroline, who created arrow signs and directed people driving by to visit the booth.

Her friend Kai designed a beautiful cover for her stories. The

Development

TIPS for Year-End Giving If you are contemplating making a year-end gift to Long Island Cares by donating cash, stock, or securities to gain the full 2021 tax advantage of your donation, here are some helpful tips to follow: • If you are making a contribution by credit card through our websites or over the phone, and your donation is charged to your card before December 31, it will count for 2021. This is true even if your credit card bill isn't due until January 2022.

• If you are sending a gift by mail, the donation is effective on the date mailed as indicated by the postmark. If the envelope is postmarked by December 31, the gift is credited to 2021 even if we physically receive it in 2022.

• If you would like to donate securities and/or stocks, these gifts are electronically transferred to Long Island Cares directly from your broker. Your gift becomes effective the date the funds are reflected on the charity's bank or brokerage account, not the date you instructed your bank or broker to make the transaction.

@long_island_cares

Allie (back right) and her family on a visit to Long Island Cares.

entire team hung up posters about the sale throughout the neighborhood, all in the name of giving back.

In the end, she raised over $400 for Long Island Cares.

Kids like Allie are changing the world for the better. They are keeping Harry Chapin's legacy alive and letting everyone know that the kids really are alright.

DID YOU KNOW? In the last year alone, food insecurity on Long Island has increased by nearly 73%. Your giving has helped feed 34,000 of your Nassau and Suffolk neighbors already in 2021! Thank you!

Monthly Donor Club An easy way to help your hungry neighbors!

Use our secure website to set up your recurring gift online and put your gift to work immediately. Choose any amount you would like to donate and remember:

Feed it Forward

$15 a month (just 50 cents a day) will provide 17 meals to hungry families in desperate need of nutrition.

How Does the Feed It Forward Monthly Giving Program work?

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Non-Profit Org US Postage

PAID Permit No 28 Brentwood, NY 11717

10 Davids Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788-2039 www.licares.org | 631.582.FOOD (3663)

To know is to care. To care is to act.

To act is to make a difference.

Stay connected!

— Harry Chapin Founder, Long Island Cares, Inc.

Exciting News from Long Island Cares!

Growing Hope

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designed & printed by greenwoodgraphics.com

At Long Island Cares, we love giving back, and when we opened our brand-new Center for Community Engagement, we decided to do our part and plant a garden for our clients right in our backyard!

Built by Long Island Cares staff and volunteers with help from the founders of the Long Island Community Agriculture Network, Dr. Heather Forest and Larry Foglia, the organic garden is producing eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other healthy vegetables for the community.

The garden is maintained each week by a dedicated team of professional gardeners and Long Island Cares staff. Each harvest, staff and volunteers band together to pluck, pull, and pack the fresh vegetables, then send the boxes out to our eager member agencies, who can now provide their clients with local, healthy, and delicious produce!