Spreading some holiday cheer

Fitfh graders at Waverly Park School created “coraments,” holiday cards that double as ornaments, for their adopted solidier Lietenant Durso’s Platoon in Afghanistan. Pictured standing from left were Jason Holoquist, Jessica Gavzie, Chelsea Guevara, Brandon Pekale, Kaylie Hauskenecht and Miranda Zaransky. Kneeling from left were Harrison Glassman and Jesse Candel.

Courtesy Rosemary Leonetti/Syntax

Lynbrook High School Leadership/Key Club recently served a holiday dinner to local senior citizens at the Gries Park Community Center in Lynbrook.

Courtesy Rosemary Leonetti/Syntax

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Those looking for food, clothing and toiletries can turn to neighborhood pantries, which are filling up quick with a surplus of items, said Sis. Barbara Faber, Our Lady of Peach parish ministry director. The pantry was able to give out extra food during Thanksgiving and will do so for Christmas thanks to others’ generosity, calling it a blessing, she said.

The OLP pantry currently provides non-perishable items and bread to 75-80 families, with the help of 30 regular volunteers and some as needed. Some volunteers make and deliver homemade meals. They are doing well with getting in items, but by next month, the shelves are expected to get a little bare, she added.

OLP parishioners can pick a star bearing a family’s name off their “giving tree,” to buy a certificate for them based on their given needs. The tree usually provides gifts for 120 to 150 people, she said.

The shelves are well-stocked at the East Rockaway Nazarene Church, according to Rev. Steve Hurkins. Now, in its third year, they help usually between 20 and 25 families a week, amounting to 100 to 120 a month. Several local businesses and scouts donate to the pantry, which offers non-perishable items and toiletries. They can always use cereal and juices, which go the quickest, Hurkins said. “The amount of food varies week by week,” he said. “It comes in, goes out, and is never too much.”

Four volunteers work on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings to assist local and regional families, who disclose their current circumstances and needs to church staff.

 
Deck the halls

Just last month, students at Lynbrook Kindergarten Center assembled 20 boxes of books, toiletries, socks and food items for soldiers serving in Afghanistan including Paul Martino, a 1989 Lynbrook High School graduate who currently is in the Navy Reserve. Teachers raised $300 for postal fees to ship the boxes, said acting principal Madelyn Torres. They are also doing a toy drive for the John Theissen Children’s Foundation from Dec. 12-19. Theissen visited the center about his experiences as a prelude to the 14th annual event on Dec. 9.