LI Cares Raising Money For Food-Insecure Families For Giving Tuesday

HAUPPAUGE, NY — The race is on. Long Island Cares is striving to raise $200K for food-insecure families by Dec. 15, as three foundations promised to match the total if the food bank is able to raise the amount through a fundraising campaign related to Giving Tuesday, which was Nov. 28.

The three foundations, which are related by family but declined to be named, will match up to $200K of what the food bank can raise. There is the potential to raise $400K or more to help feed hungry families, a Long Island Cares spokesperson said.

"We are extremely grateful to the three local community foundations that have generously provided this $200,000 matching grant that supported Long Island Cares on Giving Tuesday," Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, told Patch. "The matching grant inspired many of our corporate and individual donors to support our organization and as a result, we are meeting the challenge of raising an additional $200,000 to support our work."

Amazon in the Community donated $40K in addition to doling out "loads of food" to Long Island Cares monthly, the food bank said.

"No family should go without food," said Josh Hirschland, principal product manager for Amazon in the Community. "We’re proud to support the important work that Long Island Cares is doing to provide access to meals. Tackling food insecurity is an important priority for Amazon, and we are glad to join in this important effort to provide meals to community residents this holiday season and beyond."

Esquire Bank donated $20K, State Farm offered $19K, and Dennis Carrion, of Carrion Accident & Injury Attorneys, PLLC , Huntington, donated $1K. Danny O'Donnell, owner of Tres Palms restaurant in Babylon, raised $7K at a golf outing earlier this year.

Juliana Terian, president/CEO of Rallye Motors in Roslyn, donated $6,500, in honor of the company’s 65th anniversary.

"Long Island Cares does very important work supporting local families who need an extra hand, and as Rallye Motor Company is fortunate enough to celebrate our 65th anniversary, we are thrilled to give back by participating in their Giving Tuesday campaign," Terian said.

Flex Fights and NATTY clothing line are having a Flex Fight event with LI Cares as the beneficiary of monetary donations, according to Long Island Cares. They are also planning a food drive with five other gyms.

Joanne Lifavi, editor of "The List Magazine," which covers LI businesses, restaurants and events, is planning a holiday bash for Dec. 14 and will have LI Cares as the beneficiary of event registrations and donations.

Members of the Long Island Cares Board of Directors are pitching in thousands, but they chose to remain anonymous.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.