STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
Democratic club pulls off massive food drive
The charitable branch of a Canarsie
based Democratic club collected
more than a thousand cans of nonperishable
foods and other necessities
on Nov. 21, which they handed out to
needy families ahead of Thanksgiving
as a way of giving back to the community,
according to one big-hearted local.
“We are not only here to help with
issues that arise, but we are also here
to give back to a community that has
been so supportive of us through the
years,” said Mitchell Partnow, chairman
of TJ Cares. “So I thought I would
change the perception most people
have of a political organization by creating
the idea of an arm of our democratic
club that reaches out to families,
seniors and the less fortunate to
let them know we care.”
The Thomas Jefferson Democratic
Club, which has served Canarsie,
Georgetown, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin,
Mill Island, and Gerritsen Beach
for 64 years, debuted TJ Cares as its
charitable arm in August, when the
group hosted a barbecue that treated
more than 200 senior citizens to food,
music, dancing, prizes, and fun, according
to Partnow.
The organization started planning
its food drive in September, working
with members of the Canarsie Lions
Club to collect hundreds of cans of nonperishable
foods over the course of several
weeks, before distributing food baskets
at the Lions’ clubhouse on Monday.
Partnow thanked local district leaders
Frank Seddio and Sue Ann Partnow,
41st district leaders Lori Maslow
and Brad Reid, 58th district leader
Melba Brown, 42nd district leaders
Josh Pierre and Rodneyse Bichotte,
COURIER L 50 IFE, NOV. 29-DEC. 5, 2019
The Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club partnered with the Canarsie Lions Club to collect more than 1,000 cans of non-perishable food on
Nov. 21. Photo courtesy of Sue Ann Partnow
43rd district leaders Geoffrey Davis and
Shirley Patterson, Councilman Alan
Maisel, state Sen. Roxanne Persaud,
Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, and
Councilwoman Farah Lewis, the JASA
Senior Center, President Ruth Cohen,
Flatlands Civic President Joan Gilbert
and Board Member Stanley Scutt, and
Director of the Haitian American Caucus
Sam Pierre, the Wiz Kids Learning
Center, and TJ Cares committee members
Michelle Sealey, Yolaine Ridore,
Valerie Woodford, Michael Benjamin,
and Alan Weisberg for their help organizing
the event.
The Real World Ministries in Canarsie collected a whopping 125 turkeys for families in
need. Photo courtesy of REal World Ministries
Canarsie church delivers on Thanksgiving
BY JOE HITI
It’s the season of giving!
A Canarsie-based ministry collected
over 125 turkeys to donate to
families in need of a bird for Thanksgiving.
The executive director of The Real
World Ministries Inc. Rickard Jean-
Noel was a cofounder for the organization
that has a focus on helping
those in need across the globe and in
Brooklyn.
This year they received funding
for the turkeys through their Gofundme
page and through small donations
from big-hearted Brooklynites.
“It was fun when we had the UHaul
truck parked on Eastern Parkway
and Utica in Brooklyn,” Jean-
Noel said. “We were able to surprise
and shock the people when they saw
the huge turkeys that we were giving
out for free. Some people even cried.”
The Ministry also partnered with
the Brooklyn Borough President’s
Offi ce — who provided fruits and vegetables
that were donated to a local
food pantry in Brooklyn.
Mitchell Partnow (second left) and Michael Benjamin (second right) collect food along with
members of the Canarsie Lions Club member Nathan Williams (right) at the Thomas Jefferson
Club on Nov. 21. Photo courtesy of Sue Ann Partnow