Flushing senior center earns prestigious award
BY BILL PARRY
Western Queens residents
hoping to donate to the less fortunate
this holiday season can
support Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer’s 10th annual food
drive.
All collected items will go
to the women and children who
receive services at the Long Island
City-based nonprofit Hour
Children.
The food drive allows members
and friends of the community
to donate non-perishable
food items such as canned
meats, canned soups, canned
vegetables, canned or dried
fruit, infant formula, peanut
butter, dried goods, and other
pasta, rice and grains.
“It’s an honor to help people
in need, food is a basic need for
all of our residents and our holiday
food drive is a way to address
that need,” Van Bramer
said. “I represent a community
of people who are determined to
overcome obstacles. My role as
a Council member has led me
to meet many families who try
to shoulder great burdens. The
holiday food drive is a small,
yet an effective way of helping
those families who rarely, if
ever, reach out for help.”
Participants may drop food
off at any of the seven locations
around western Queens, including
Van Bramer’s district
office located at 47-01 Queens
Blvd. Suite 205 in Sunnyside,
or at any of the Queens Public
Library branches in western
Queens, including the new
TIMESLEDGER | Q 28 NS.COM | DEC. 13-19, 2019
Hunters Point Library on Center
Boulevard in Long Island
City.
“Hour Community Food
Pantry serves our local residents
but also people from
throughout Queens and beyond,”
Hour Children Development
Director Megan Campbell
said. “We handled nearly 10,000
visits last year from people in
need, an increase over prior
years. This time of year, people
are incredibly generous. But
hunger of course is year-round,
and donations are what keeps
us going.”
In 1986, Sister Tesa Fitzgerald,
helped develop a home in
Long Island City for children
whose mothers were incarcerated.
She got to know the mothers
when she brought their
children to visit, and quickly
realized that the women would
need additional support if they
were to successfully reunite
with their children after their
release. Incorporated in 1992,
Hour Children has since become
a leading provider of prison
and community-based family
services to support women
and children as they reunite,
stabilize and transform their
lives.
“We’re grateful for great
friends who remember us and
their neighbors in need even
when the holidays are over,”
Campbell said. “The mission of
Hour Children is to help incarcerated
and formerly incarcerated
women and children successfully
rejoin the community,
reunite with their families, and
build healthy, independent,
and secure lives. The organization
boats multiple programs
to include women working programs,
mental health support,
community outreach and pantry,
and supportive housing.”
For more information regarding
the holiday food drive,
contact Van Bramer’s district
office at 718-383-9566.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
City officials recognized
a Flushing senior center last
week for its ongoing commitment
to preparing older adults
for emergencies.
Selfhelp Innovative Senior
Center Director Mayer Waxman
was presented with this
year’s Senior Center of the
Year Award by the New York
City Emergency Management
and Department for the Aging
(DFTA). Following the presentation
was a discussion on the
importance of emergency preparedness
for all New Yorkers,
including older adults.
“Mr. Waxman and the Selfhelp
Innovative Senior Center
staff work year-round to ensure
their seniors are prepared for
any emergency,” said Deanne
Criswell, New York City Emergency
commissioner. “Through
partnerships with the NYC Department
for the Aging, NYC
Emergency Management will
continue to spread the message
of preparedness to seniors
throughout the five boroughs.”
The Selfhelp Innovative
Senior Center, located at 45-33
Kissena Blvd., provides daily
services and programs to more
than 400 older adults including
fitness, art, dance and music
classes. As part of the program,
members received emergency
preparedness presentations
and were reminded to pack a
Go-Bag with basic supplies,
medical information, and contact
names and numbers.
Waxman and the staff at the
senior center showed dedication
to emergency preparedness
by coordinating multilingual,
interactive, educational workshops
for seniors. Additionally,
the center has developed
a strong relationship with the
local fire department and with
the NYPD’s 109th Precinct, both
of which conduct regular safety
presentations for seniors. During
heat emergencies, the senior
center also serves as one of
the city’s more than 500 cooling
centers activated to help New
Yorkers beat the heat.
Councilman Peter Koo and
State Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic congratulated the senior
center on its prestigious award
for working to better address
emergencies encountered by
their clients.
“For years, Flushing’s Selfhelp
Innovative Senior Center
has served as a de facto town
hall for our community,” Koo
said. “Known locally as Benjamin
Rosenthal Senior Center,
Selfhelp has long served as a
focal point of our neighborhood
by capably serving our senior
population with everything
from educational workshops to
entertainment to social services
and more. I offer my sincerest
congratulations to Selfhelp’s seniors
and management, including
program director Jane Qiu
and CEO Stuart Kaplan.”
State Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic noted that the center’s
recognition is a testament to
the community Selfhelp has
built and its mission to ensure
no one is turned away from having
access to a safe space and
quality care.
“Flushing is fortunate to be
home to the Selfhelp Innovative
Senior Center and the dedicated
staff and volunteers delivering
vital social services from health
and wellness programs to educational
workshops,” Rozic said.
The center also received congratulatory
remarks from Congresswoman
Grace Meng and
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky.
This year, NYC Emergency
Management’s Ready New York
program has hosted more than
70 presentations for older adults
and trained more than 5,800
older New Yorkers in preparedness.
The agency has also distributed
more than 350,000 “My
Emergency Plan” workbooks to
New Yorkers, that guides users
through establishing a support
network, capturing important
health information, evacuation
planning and gathering
emergency supplies.
First responders or caregivers
can also use the workbook to
help people during an emergency.
“The Ready New York: My
Emergency Plan” is available in
multiple languages, including
English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian,
Arabic, Bengali, Haitian
Creole, Italian, Korean, French,
Polish, Urdu and Yiddish.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4526.
Holiday food drive begins in western Queens neighborhoods
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer launched the 10th annual holiday food drive across western Queens.
Photo via Shutterstock
/NS.COM
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