November 2024 Newsletter
| WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE THIS NEWS WITH ALL OF YOU |
| The address 4170 Hylan Blvd. is being redefined, marking a special shift from Bozo’s Army/Navy Store, a beloved local institution for decades, to the new home of the Staten Island Giving Circle. The Staten Island Giving Circle will now be based at that address, transforming it into a veterans’ food pantry, meeting space, and storage hub for all the organization’s charitable activities. The involvement of Laura Parente Norden, a long-time member and Board Member of the Giving Circle, ensures that her legacy continues at the new venue, even as the space takes on a new purpose. It’s a beautiful story of how community organizations evolve, and how cherished local spaces continue to serve their community in new and meaningful ways. |
 For our fall gift card distribution we had 12 pantries in attendance. In addition to their gift cards each pantry received a selection of Bombas socks, underwear and t-shirts. We also gave them big bags of candy from our Halloween candy collection. |
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 Click here to donate directly to Value A Veteran    Adopt-A-Veteran Holiday Breakfast We hosted our Veterans’ Holiday Breakfast on December 4th at The Old Bermuda Inn. It was a huge success, Santa and Mrs Claus brought gifts for 54 veterans, Island Auto Group had hats scarves and gloves for everyone and Phillips 66 gifted everyone with a restaurant card. We invited our sponsors to join us and we were so happy that somany could attend. Island Auto Group, Phillips 66, Sandy Hook Pilots Charitable Foundation, Amazon Delivery, Rolling Thunder, RUMC, Sunrise Senior Living New Dorp, DiTommaso Real Estate, Rampulla and Newstad, Resurrection Cemetery, Lynne Persing, Debbie Santora, SSG Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation, and the Road Home Foundation. Veterans’ Essentials Pantry If you know a veteran or veteran’s spouse who can benefit from this program please contact Kathy Barzal at KathySIGC@gmail.com  |
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 | Our Seniors Committee is busy getting ready for Monday, Dec. 9, we are hosting a large luncheon for the seniors at Canterbury Houses, Act Cares and a few New Lane friends. Lifestyles Cafe is providing the food which is an enormous donation. Jose Diaz will be playing music and we will have gift bags to hand out. |
 We had two Random Acts this month, one for a Memorial Day military banner for Cpl Lawrence Thompson USMC. From West Brighton, he was the first black soldier from Staten Island killed in action in Vietnam. The second was in support of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month, the money donated will go towards care bags for patients going through treatment at the Florina Cancer Center, Mike Vonness puts these bags together and delivers them each month in honor of his wife’s memory. |
 The Literacy team is working weekly at the Berry Homes. The group now consists of 8 members, they work in pairs, and it is an approximate once a month commitment per member. We are looking to expand this program, please contact us if you are interested in joining Charlotte’s Team in the coming months. |
 We had 2 winners this month, Steve Shapiro, chose to donate $180 to Value-A-Veteran and Jennifer Weile selected Sunrise Day Camp to receive $180. Please be advised that if you want to be included in each month’s charity raffle draw, you can pay ahead by sending a check or Paypal commitment for the number of months you want to be included. This way, if you can’t attend a meeting in person, you can still participate. |
    We are in the midst of the biggest spree of donations ever. Lynne Persing has committed to $60,000 to cover the entire first year of our new space. Phillips 66 has donated $20,000 and will be our dedicated sponsor for 2025 Adopt-A-Pantry Island Auto Group presented us with $19,000 for our Food Insecurity Initiatives Sandy Hook Pilots Charitable Foundation $5,000 for our Veterans Food Pantry Con Edison $5,000 for the Weekend Food Backpack program Private donor $2,000 for Senior Movement Amazon grant, $1,000 general donation The Richard and Lois Nicotra Foundation $1,000 for the Weekend Food Backpack Program. Northfield Bank Foundation $500 for our Senior Holiday Event  |
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 Interested in volunteering your time please email Kathy Barzal at KathySIGC@gmail.com We have several volunteer opportunities coming up for you to join us in serving our community. |
 | Alex Marrocco, President of the Road Home Foundation was our guest speaker. The Road Home Foundation’s mission is to assist active duty and retired military personnel who have been injured in the war on terror. Their goal is to continually improve their quality of life and the quality of their families lives. For more information Road Home Foundation |
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 | To make a donation please use the following: Venmo: @StatenIslandGivingCircle PayPal: SIGivingCircle@aol.com Checks may be mailed to: Staten Island Giving Circle PO Box 120301 Staten Island NY 10312 |
 | We get inquiries for teens looking to score service hours to satisfy school requirements. We have been recommending the students organize a collection of food (cereal, granola bars, fruit cups) to be used for our Food Insecurity initiatives. Students can create flyers, host the collection and deliver to the recipients for their service credit. Please contact us for a list of items needed. |
 Michele Yacovello 917.733.7937 MicheleSIGC@gmail.com Evelyn Kormanik H: 718.980.4862 C: 646.240.7486 sigivingcircle@aol.com Kathy Barzal C: 917.648.5279 KathySIGC@gmail.com  |
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