Keyword: 'MLK center' | Herald Community Newspapers

Sharon Sheppard, assistant director of the MLK Jr. Center, continues to provide food and resources to others while battling cancer herself.

Sharon Sheppard is the Rockville Centre Herald's 2021 Person of the Year

The coronavirus pandemic has left many people isolated and financially burdened for almost two years. It has been harrowing for those who have lost their jobs to try to cover all of their expenses, from rent to utilities and, most important, food. For those struggling in Rockville Centre, Sharon Sheppard has offered a food pantry and classes for youth that have kept many people afloat, and engaged. more

By Tom Carrozza | 12/30/21

Top Chef competitor Eva Kopelman, center, taught a class at the MLK Center's cooking academy on Dec. 9.

Top Chef team teaches cooking at MLK Center

Members of the Dr. Martin Luther King Center’s cooking academy were treated to a class taught by Eva Kopelman and her mother Jenn, who both appeared on the Peacock show “Top Chef: Family Style.” more

By Tom Carrozza tcarrozza@liherald.com | 12/16/21

Volunteers, from left, Sandra Graves, Karen Mobley and Sabrina Burroughs-Scott at Sharon’s Food Pantry.

Sharon’s Food Pantry, Anti-Racism Project meeting needs a year on

More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, food insecurity and financial worries have made Sharon’s Food Pantry, at the Rockville Centre Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, an … more

By Tom Carrozza | 4/22/21

Karen Mobley, sister of Sharon Sheppard, who started the food pantry, displayed the T-shirt sporting its new name. With her, from left, were Richard Geffen, Rena Riback, Beverly Steven, Sabrina Scott, De’Juan Bacchas, Debra Dean and Sandra Graves.

Martin Luther King Center food pantry in Rockville Centre is renamed for founder

Since the start of the pandemic, residents of Rockville Centre have provided support to neighbors in need in numerous ways, and that generosity has continued through the holiday season. Last week, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center’s pop-up food pantry opened for the final time this year, and donors ensured that Christmas would be bountiful: About three weeks’ worth of groceries, as well as gifts, were given to the approximately 100 families the pantry serves each week. more

By Jill Nossa | 12/24/20

We can’t overlook the hardships of our L.I. neighbors

When I first came to the Herald in January to cover Long Beach, I took in what most others see — the fine beaches, the beautiful boardwalk, the tony restaurants on Park Avenue and the cool, funky bars on the West End. But the coronavirus peeled back the layers fast . . . more

By James Bernstein | 12/10/20

Volunteers set up the food pantry at The Experience Pantry in Rockville Centre.

Pantries step up food drives in Rockville Centre

While Americans across the country are wondering how to safely celebrate the upcoming holidays without inadvertently contracting or spreading the coronavirus, many families in Rockville Centre have a more pressing worry: Will there be enough to eat? The demand for food continues to increase as the pandemic drags on, and volunteers at local food pantries are concerned that these families might be forgotten. more

By Jill Nossa | 11/20/20

The MLK Center’s food pantry, which feeds about 60 families each Friday, has received $10,000 in federal block grant funding, distributed by Nassau County to help communities cope with the impacts of Covid-19.

Rockville Centre’s MLK, senior center receive Covid-19 funding

The coronavirus pandemic has presented new challenges to local community centers, including the Sandel Senior Center and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Center in Rockville Centre. Nassau County has responded by distributing $45,000 in federal grant funding to the centers to help them better serve residents during this time. more

By Briana Bonfiglio | 8/3/20

Shyanna Morris, 14, right, roller skated at the MLK Center with Leah Long.

A different summer for the MLK Center in Rockville Centre

Every Wednesday and Friday, staff members at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Center in Rockville Centre have been turning the recreation room into a roller rink. more

By Briana Bonfiglio | 7/21/20

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, far left, joined volunteers from the Martin Luther King Center on Monday to distribute meals and masks to Long Beach residents.

Long Beach MLK center feeds hundreds during pandemic

A line of hungry Long Beach residents hoping to get a home-cooked meal and school lunches at the Martin Luther King Center stretched down Riverside Boulevard and onto East Fulton Street on Monday in … more

By Darwin Yanes | 5/7/20

Sharon Sheppard, assistant director of Rockville Centre’s MLK Center, is taking online nursing classes to become certified in about two years.

Helping feed Rockville Centre families in a crisis, while chasing a dream

During a surely devastating time for many, Sharon Sheppard, assistant director of Rockville Centre’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Center, is rising to the occasion by feeding families in need in the village. more

By Briana Bonfiglio | 4/13/20