In the caring community of Oyster Bay-East Norwich, plans for the holiday season include program to help less fortunate families, senior citizens and disabled individuals.
Back in 1992, I got involved with the Interreligious Group in Oyster Bay. At that time, the treasurer of CSAC (Community Social Action Council) which is a committee of the Interreligious Group wanted to retire. I was new to the club but since I have an accounting background, I was asked to be the treasurer. I happily accepted the post and I have been treasurer of CSAC ever since.
The CSAC committee is in charge of the Food Drive. We ask the public to donate food for Thanksgiving and to donate money as well. We send out about 1000 solicitation letters in October and then money starts coming in. We have been raising approximately $10,000 to $12,000 in cash every year which we buy food gift certificates and distribute them to the less fortunate families, seniors and disabled individuals so they can have a holiday meal. I order the food gift certificates and I send out all the thank you letters afterwards to the donors. The recipients also get a cartful of groceries, sometimes two depending on the number of people in a family unit. We work closely with our local churches, schools, the Youth and Family Counseling Agency and they are the ones who supply the names of the families. Basically we do not know who gets the food. We only get #1 - Family of 2 or #2 - Family of 4 and so on. You get the idea. The recipients are handed a number beforehand and they present the card at the distribution center which is at the First Presbyterian Church. It is to protect their identity since it is a small community. We sort the food on Monday night and the high school kids help us distribute the food on Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. We get tons of packaged food, fresh vegetables, turkeys and all the trimmings. It is a very satisfying endeavor knowing we are helping those in need at this time of the year.
In 2007, 142 families with children and 97 seniors and disabled individuals were so grateful to receive assistance as a result of this program. If you feel you can support this community-wide effort, you can send in your donation to: CSAC, "2008 Holiday Sharing Fund", P.O. Box 231, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.
Copyright © 2008. By Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady". All rights reserved.. *REMEMBER THE NEEDY ON THANKSGIVING*
Contact Rosalinda Morgan, "The Rose Lady" if you are looking for homes to buy in EAST NORWICH, OYSTER BAY COVE, OYSTER BAY, SYOSSET, LAUREL HOLLOW, BROOKVILLE AND MUTTONTOWN.
Ph - 516-385-0584
Email - linda@rosalindamorgan.com
Website - www.rosalindamorgan.com
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