A community of caring

Oceanside 'sharing tables' help those in need

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Every day when Debbie Cino comes home from work, there are several boxes waiting outside her Oceanside house. They represent a community of caring: Dozens of residents have come together to help stock the “sharing tables” outside her home, on which food, toiletries, diapers and other items are available to those in search of help.

“It’s really for whoever is in need,” Cino said. “The motto of the sharing table is take what you need and leave what you can, if you can.”

Cino got involved in the effort after her brother, Joe Cino, learned about the sharing table movement sweeping the country and wanted to start his own. Joe, who lives in Massapequa and owns Cino Hot Bagels in Oceanside, called his sister about creating a table, and she offered to put one out at her house. Nearly two months ago, they started soliciting donations on social media and through Joe’s business, and the next thing they knew, community members had donated 23 boxes of supplies on the first day of the collection. Dozens upon dozens of boxes made their way to Debbie’s doorstep in the ensuing days.

So she set up a tent in her driveway at 314 Bedell St., under which three tables are set up — two for food, one for toiletries and other items — and those who have been affected by the pandemic or have faced any other hardships are invited to take what they need. The tables are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Joe and Debbie also created an Oceanside sharing table group on Facebook.

“I try and help people on a general basis,” Joe said. “… I’m pretty fortunate myself, so I try to help the people that are less fortunate. It makes me feel good.”

Since Debbie and Joe started their collection two months ago, neighbors and complete strangers have dropped things off on Debbie’s porch — peanut butter and jelly, bread, cereal, pasta, sauce, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, diapers and more. They have also sent her money through the cash transfer app Venmo, and she set up an Amazon link they can use to buy items for the cause. They have accumulated so fast that Debbie had to install two racks in her garage just to store it all.

In all, she said, they have received more than $700 in cash donations and over $1,000 in food.

“It’s amazing — you come home sometimes and the table’s completely empty,” she said. “The community has really come together to really help, and it’s a really great feeling.”

She organizes the items on the table each morning, and when she’s at work managing a surgery center, which she requested not to mention by name, Joe comes by and replenishes whatever is needed. Debbie’s daughter, Alexis, also helps out when she isn’t attending classes at Fordham University.

The Cinos said the idea for a sharing table came from Mary Kate Tischler, a Seaford resident who started the first one on Long Island. Tischler said she found out about the movement in a magazine article, and a few weeks later, she and her daughter, Ruby, 6, started a sharing table of their own.

With handmade signs to alert the community and through word of mouth and social media, it was an instant success. Now sharing tables can be seen around Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as upstate, and they have been reported as far west as California.

Tischler noted that while many of the table creators are women, Joe was one of three men who contacted her. She said he was excited about helping others, and dropped bags of pre-packaged bagels from his business at various tables — and even bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket, which he planned to share with all the tables if he won.

“They’ve done a really great job,” Tischler said of the Cinos. “They have a whole lot of extra supplies and have gotten a lot of donations. It’s really great. I think it shows that people are good-hearted, and it was really reaffirming for me.”

Tischler said she recently formed a partnership with the alumni association at Binghamton University, and the college is sending an email to 90,000 alumni nationwide to see if they’re interested in creating their own tables, so she is confident the giving tradition will expand in the future.

The Cinos said they were glad to be a part of it and to give back to those in need.

“During the pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs, they’re unemployed and you don’t realize how many people are in need,” Debbie said. “I honestly couldn’t do it without the help of the community, and it’s nice to know that you can give back and really help people.”