Monday, January 20, 2025
Emilian Emeagwali, who founded the Elmont-based charity Giving Back to Community Corp., held a Thanksgiving food drive at her physical and occupational office in Valley Stream last Saturday. She distributed 100 turkeys and various canned goods to local people in need, many of whom came all the way from New York City.
So much more needs to be done, Emeagwali said.
Emeagwali, 59, who started the Giving Back to Community Corp. in 2009 in Nigeria, brought it to the United States in 2020, after she noticed a surge in food insecurity on Long Island amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, she said, the need has only increased.
Saturday’s event was scheduled to start at noon, but a line of about 30 people had already formed by 11:45 a.m. Before the distribution began, Emeagwali knew she would run out of turkeys before the end of the six-hour event.
Fundraising challenges
The turkeys for this year’s food drive were purchased from BJ’s, with funds raised by Emeagwali’s charity and a $100 donation from the store. She held a fundraising gala last month at the Golden Terrace Banquet Hall in Richmond Hill, but other than the contribution from BJ’s, she received no further financial support. Most donations were from friends and family members.
Funding, she said, is the biggest challenge she faces, and finding a permanent space to operate is a close second. “I spend almost all my time reaching out to people, trying to see if we can get funding,” she said. “That’s what is limiting us.”
Emeagwali does not get funding from local and state elected officials, although she’s been asking for a while now. She said she has written to supermarkets like King Kullen, Stop & Shop and Key Food, as well as local politicians, but has either been rejected or received no response.
On top of that, she said, not having a permanent space has been eating into the funds she raises. When she schedules a gala, she has to pay the venue as if she were any other business, and deduct that from the event’s donations. In addition, she said, none of the venues at which she has held events have made any donations.
“I need funding,” Emeagwali said. “We need a permanent place, you know, so we can do this on a regular basis. But funding is the most important thing.”
Government participation
According to Averett Leach, a volunteer at Giving Back to Community, organizations in Brooklyn have more access to funds than those on Long Island. Leach, who grew up in Brooklyn and saw poverty firsthand, said he wasn’t sure why, but he has noticed a trend in Brooklyn that he doesn’t see in communities like Elmont, particularly in local leadership.
“Some of those people that are in charge of stuff like that are in the churches you attend,” he said of Brooklyn. “You see them at various community events. So you have that exposure to them on a regular basis.” On Long Island, Leach said, he doesn’t see elected leaders as often.
Emeagwali agreed, saying, “I think they need to change legislation and put something in there to help organizations like us, because we are closer to the community than them.”
Emeagwali grew up in Nigeria, where she saw widespread poverty. Her efforts abroad, she said, have been particularly challenging. “The type of poverty there is alarming. It wasn’t like this when I was there,” she said. “The children don’t have clothing. You will see a school with no chairs and no desks. The women can’t even afford food for their children.”
Emeagwali showed a video of a food drive she organized last year in Nigeria. “That one, I was crying. I started crying,” she said. As she recalled the experience, she began to tear up. The number of people who show up at these drives, she said, increases every year. This year she expects the number to double. Whatever is left over from her Thanksgiving funds will go toward her next food drive in Nigeria for Christmas.
Connecting with the community
As of now, Giving Back to Community relies on Facebook, Emeagwali’s website, newspapers, and word of mouth to raise awareness about her charity and its events. Eileen Dowd, who has been a patient of Emeagwali’s since 2015, said she supports the organization by giving fliers and business cards to politicians and others she meets, promoting both the organization and Emeagwali’s practice to people she meets.
Dowd called Emeagwali a miracle worker, and said that more people should do more what she does. “I support how she helps people who can’t help themselves,” Dowd said. “She lifts up people that don’t see the good in themselves. She goes the extra mile. And she’s a really loving and caring person to people she doesn’t even know.”
Emeagwali said she is not alone in her efforts, and people like Leach, Dowd and her children are the backbone of the organization. She said that with their help, she can in turn help people in Elmont, Valley Stream, Queens and Brooklyn. “We don’t discriminate,” she said. “Anyone who comes in here, we don’t ask where you come from. You’re getting something.”
Leach said that volunteering is rewarding work, and it helps him connect with the community in a way that makes him feel fulfilled. “The fact that we are able to give back these turkeys, these canned products, and see the smiles on people’s faces that receive these items, that’s all I can ask for,” he said.
Leach added that he hopes to inspire more community participation, and that the community is key to changing how charities like Giving Back to Community can operate. “What needs to change is people’s hearts,” he said. “People need to be more involved. If they get more involved, then they can get more done.”
Despite the many challenges she faces, Emeagwali said her work with the charity is extremely fulfilling. With a big smile, she said, “When you see that you put a smile on somebody’s face — you see somebody struggling and you give them something like this — they brighten up. It’s so rewarding. And that’s why I do it.”
For more information about Emeagwali’s charity, visit GivingBackToCommunity.org.
