Kiwanis brings Thanksgiving to East Meadow

The East Meadow Kiwanis has been hard at work to ensure that local families were able to have a Thanksgiving feast this year.

The organization hosted two successful food drives on Nov. 3 and 4 and Nov. 10 and 11 at Shop Rite in Uniondale and Super Stop and Shop in East Meadow, also collecting cash donations that offset the cost of purchasing turkeys, hams and chickens so each family had a complete meal for Thanksgiving.

Next, on Nov. 16 and 17, the Kiwanis and helpers were involved in collecting, sorting, bagging and distributing food to 125 families living under trying circumstance in East Meadow and surrounding communities. Helpers included East Service Leadership Program members from the Builders Club at W.T. Clarke Middle School and Woodland Middle School, Key Clubs at East Meadow and W.T. Clarke high schools and congregants from the New Hope Church in Westbury. East Meadow Little League board members also donated their time to deliver food to the families.

The food was stored at World Gym in East Meadow, which is also a drop-off point for any additional food anyone might want to donate. World Gym manager Frank Camarano Jr., also an East Meadow Kiwanian and president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, has also shown support and been involved in the community service project. He has allowed the Kiwanis to use his facility to store the collected food for the past 15 years.

Finally, the East Meadow Kiwanis hosted its Senior Citizen and Military Family Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 18 at East Meadow High School. A total of 271 people enjoyed a complete Thanksgiving dinner cooked by East Meadow Kiwanis Club members under the supervision of Kiwanian co-chairpersons Mitchell Allen and Mitchell Skoller. Students in the East Meadow High School Key Club decorated the room to fit the theme of Disney's Under the Sea. Key Club, K-Kids and Builders Club Service Leadership Program Members helped serve food.

East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Muslim Society, Optical Consultants of Long Island and TD Bank donated funds to support the event. And East Meadow High School's kitchen, custodial and teaching staff donate their time to make sure families were treated to a Thanksgiving feast.

—Brian Stieglitz