By JOSEPH KELLARD
On Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8 and 9, the annual Gift from the Heart food drive will take place at Waldbaum's and Stop & Shop supermarkets in Oceanside from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Donations of non-perishable food such as canned goods, pastas, cereals, flour and sugar will be distributed to those in need who live within the community.
The Gift from the Heart program has distributed approximately 80,000 pounds of food to more than 2,500 people since its inception in 1987. Goods collected from December's drive, and another to be held in January, will be distributed to 50 or so families during February, the month estimated to be the coldest of the year.
"The purpose of the drive is to make sure that people don't have to choose between providing heat for their homes or buying food," said Stuart
Gubenko, director of the food drive. Citing this year's slower economy, Gubenko is convinced that more families than ever will need assistance this holiday season.
The Rotary also uses money and food coupons donated by Oceanside
Community Services and the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce for perishables and
items in short supply. Local businesses -- like Dunkin Donuts, the Oceanside Star Diner and Stuff 'n Bagels - also lend a helping hand by keeping food
collectors warm with hot drinks and refreshments.
Interact, the Rotary's high school student arm, is among the group of food collectors.
"Our greatest help comes from Interact, who works with us side by side," Gubenko said. "This project could never exist without them." Members of Interact perform various services for people in the community throughout the year.
"Last year, there were people who told us things have turned around for them and turned our assistance down," Gubenko said. Considering the shape of this year's economy, we expect 60 or 70 families if we do good this year."
Toy collection and distribution have been on the rotary's slate for more than two decades. Originally, the Rotary held its own holiday party, but as more community groups decided to hold separate events, less children attended each one. That's why a collaborative toy party was started seven years ago said past president Jeff Finkelstein. Approximately 350 toys were collected at the first event held by the Oceanside Teachers' Union and the Rotary Club. Last year's party brought in more than 3,000.
Leslie Krasnoff, president of the Oceanside Federation of Teachers, contacts parents and educators within the district, asking for brand-new, unwrapped toys with a $10 value for children ranging in age from 6 to 12. This year's party will be held at the Oceanside Fire Department's Rescue Company, where Krasnoff's husband, Mitch, is an ex-chief, on Mon., Dec. 10.
On Saturday, Dec. 15, the toys will be distributed to bed-ridden children convalescing at South Nassau Communities Hospital. Holiday well wishers will give out toys by visiting sick children in their rooms and hold a holiday party afterwards.
Through the efforts of recently-installed rotary member and South Nassau V.P. of Operations, Dan Rowland, the club will also deliver toys to children at the hospital's World Trade Center Child and Family Counseling Center, a facility in Rockville Centre open to families directly affected by the tragedy of Sept. 11.
The Rotary has established a brand new program for teen-aged foster children to commence on Sunday, Dec. 16. Fifteen Nassau County foster kids will be treated to a day of bowling at Rockville Centre Lanes. Rotary V.P. Jim Burton is spearheading this first-time program.
A foster/adoptive parent and member of Burton's Oceanside church introduced him to the idea of working with older children, and Burton presented the idea to his fellow, receptive Rotarians.
"All kids who are in the foster system for a long time wind up staying [in the system] and going from home to home," Burton said. "So the Rotary decided
to focus on older children who are oftentimes left out. The older a child
is, the less chance there is of anyone [adopting or fostering] that child."
"Once the kids are older than 12, it's tough getting toys," said Finkelstein. "With this new kids program, we're expanding the age group of kids we get involved with."
The Rotary is looking to expand involvement with foster teens by inviting them to participate in other programs, Burton said. His hope is that this effort will increase their chances of finding loving homes.
"What I hope they'll get out of our day of bowling is a good time and to
have adults pay them attention in a positive way," Burton said.
