September 2022 Newsletter

THE BIG NEWS FOR OUR WFBP IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AT PCCS WILL BE HELPING US PACK AND DELIVER THE BACKPACKS ON A WEEKLY BASIS.  THEY WILL RECEIVE THE GROCERY DELIVERY, SORT AND PACK 115 BAGS EACH WEEK AND DELIVER 15 BACKPACKS TO EACH OF OUR SEVEN SCHOOLS. PLEASE CONTACT MICHELE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HOST A COLLECTION OR ARE INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.

WE CONTINUE TO SEE A RISE IN NUMBER OF FAMILIES COMING INTO THE ESSENTIALS CLOSET. WE HAD OVER 115 INDIVIDUAL VISITS PER OPENING DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, REPRESENTING ALMOST 400     FAMILY MEMBERS. AS THIS PROGRAM GROWS SO DOES  ITS MONTHLY BUDGET WHICH MEANS WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. THIS INCLUDES GRANTS AND INDIVIDUAL DONORS. ON OCTOBER 11th FROM 2-4 WE WILL BE HOSTING AN OPEN HOUSE AT THE PANTRY FOR DONORS AND PROSPECTIVE DONORS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING PLEASE RSVP TO MICHELE.   WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE DENTAL LABORATORY GROUP FOR THEIR VERYGENEROUS DONATION OF $5000 TO NOURISH THE SERVICE.   PLEASE CONTACT MICHELE FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.  LOCATED ON FORT WADSWORTH WITH VOLUNTEERS FROM BLUE STAR FAMILIES, THIS SITE IS OPEN TWICE A MONTH.

We awarded a new teachers closet to Stephanie Theodorou, who leads the Junior Giving Circle at  IS75. Stephanie chose to order a color printer and supplies that the students can use to create flyers throughout the year for their monthly collections.

This month we collected $400 and the pot was split. Our first winning ticket was purchased by Stacy Berthelon. Stacy selected Staten Island Community Food Pantry to receive $200  The second winning ticket was won by a new member, Alma Lauro, Alma chose to donate it back to the Giving Circle to use toward one of our initiatives. The winner donates to his/her favorite charity; it is not kept by the ticket holder. To participate, go to our website and donate via Venmo or PayPal. We suggest putting $60 (for six months or $100 for 10 months).

The Staten Island Antique Automobile Club very generously chose the SIGC to receive a portion of their proceeds from last weekend’s car show. We are beyond excited to announce that we were gifted $3000. Special thanks to Kristine Garlisi and The Nicotra Foundation for introducing the Giving Circle to the club.

In other financial and fundraising news our yard sale was quite a success and we raised over $1400. Our event at the Commons cafe raised just over $1000, this included several raffles and a 50/50 in addition to proceeds from sales at the cafe. If you haven’t been to the cafe yet, we encourage you to stop by for breakfast or lunch.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND FUNDRAISERS

WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR NEWEST JUNIOR GIVING CIRCLE.  BEGINNING THIS MONTH  ST. PATRICK’S SCHOOL WILL JOIN US WITH THEIR NEWLY FORMED JUNIOR GIVING CIRCLE. FOR INFORMATION ON STARTING A JUNIOR GIVING CIRCLE AT YOUR SCHOOL PLEASE CONTACT KATHY BARZAL AT KATHYSIGC@GMAIL.COM

To make a donation please use the following:Venmo: @StatenIslandGivingCirclePayPal:SIGivingCircle@aol.comChecks may be mailed to:Staten Island Giving CirclePO Box 120301Staten Island NY 10312

WE’RE KEEPING THINGS VERY SIMPLE THIS MONTH, WE ARE COLLECTING: FLEECE BLANKETS AND $5 DUNKIN GIFT CARDS TO BE USED FOR OUR HOMELESS OUTREACH.

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, fruit cups) to be used for our Food Insecurity initiatives.Students can create flyers, host the collection and deliver to the recipient for their service credit. Please contact us for a list of items needed.

Michele Yacovello 917.733.7937 MicheleSIGC@gmail.com Evelyn Kormanik 718.980.4862 sigivingcircle@aol.com

Our meetings are held at Oakwood Heights Community Church, 345 Guyon Avenue. The morning meeting is at 9am, in person only.  The evening meeting is at 7pm, in person and Zoom. Please see schedule below for upcoming dates.