Kiwanis reaches out to families in need

The Merrick Kiwanis Club brought holiday cheer –– and loads of food and toys –– to 43 families in need last Saturday.

In recent weeks, volunteers with the club’s Food for Those in Need campaign, chaired by Merrick chiropractor Richard Seibert, have collected nonperishable food at three locations –– Waldbaum’s and Foodtown in Merrick and Pat’s Farms in North Merrick. On Dec. 13, they packaged it in cardboard boxes at Calhoun High School and delivered it by car to families throughout the community.

Seibert said that each family received a turkey, five boxes of canned and dry foods, a five-pound bag of potatoes and toys. Merrick real-estate agent Anne Ruvolo chaired the toy collection. Smith Street Deli in Merrick supplied the turkeys.

Social workers at local schools alerted the Kiwanis Club about families in need. Families might have suffered a job loss or medical trauma, even a fire.