34 THE COURIER SUN • december 4, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIt www.couriersun.com Church hosts monthly community potluck THE COURIER/Photo by Asha Mahadevan BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 One Astoria church is hoping to bring a community together over good food and a warm environment. For over a year, members of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 31-18 37th St., have been hosting a Community Supper Potluck on the second Friday of every month. During these dinners, which go on for about two hours, church parishioners and residents from the neighborhood are welcome to bring a dish to share and just hang out, according Elizabeth Lacks, one of the organizers. According to Lacks, you do not need to bring food in order to participate. The dinners are open to those who just want to get together with neighbors and also those who might need a hot, nutritious meal. “The potluck aspect of the supper has been a lot of fun, especially in such an ethnically diverse neighborhood as Astoria,” Lacks said. “And it’s a great way to get to know some of your neighbors; we encourage people to sit with others even if they come alone, and I have met some fascinating people.” The community potlucks began after members of the congregation, including Lacks, came together to discuss ways to reach out to more residents in the community. “Of course in any community there are people in need of food and friendship, and ours is no different,” Lacks said. “These dinners were the result, and they’ve grown considerably since we started.” The goal of the dinners, which now see about 40 participants, is to provide a place where parishioners and neighbors can “find good food and fellowship,” Lacks said. Organizers hope those who attend will feel like they belong to a community. Although the church asks for volunteers to help serve, set up and clean up, and appreciates any support it gets, the group does not distinguish between volunteers and others at the dinners. When it comes to dinner time, everyone eats together. “As many people live in New York, it’s very easy to be lonely in this city, and we hope that these dinners are a place where neighbors can meet and engage with each other in a warm and welcoming environment,” Lacks said. If you would like to volunteer for a dinner, email Lacks at [email protected]. The next Community Supper Potluck is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. For over a year, members of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 31-18 37th St., have been hosting a Community Supper Potluck on the second Friday of every month. TEENS COLLECT 4,726 CANS OF FOOD FOR THE NEEDY BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF [email protected]/@QueensCourier They’ve got the can-do spirit! Teenagers from Queens and Brooklyn collected 4,726 cans of food during a national campaign to aid the needy that was co-sponsored by the BBYO of the Big Apple Region and DoSomething. org, an organization dedicated to working with young people for social change. One of the teens, Lily Sexton of Whitestone, collected 3,976 cans of food — the second most for any teen participating in the national food drive that ended on Nov. 30 and was aimed at fighting hunger in their own neighborhoods. For their hard work, 350 teenagers who participated in the food drive were invited to a screening of “The Hunger Games” at Movie World in Douglaston, two days before the much-awaited film was official released. Sexton — second only to a Texas teen who collected 66,000 cans — was recognized for her accomplishment at the screening with tickets to the movie for herself and 20 lucky friends. Other teens managed to collect an additional 750 cans of food at the theater. The screening was sponsored by more than a dozen Temples and Jewish centers from the two boroughs. The food drive began on Sept. 23, just before the start of the Jewish holidays to keep with the Yom Kippur tradition of collecting food for the needy during the day of fasting. “BBYO has a long tradition of teens coming together to stand up for the cause they believe in and to take action to create change in their communities and our world,” said Natalie Spring, director of campaigns and movement initiatives at BBYO. “Working with DoSomething.org on this campaign, we’re able to connect more teens to the value of repairing the world.” Teenagers gave the project high marks, as well. “I think this program was important because plenty of kids our age, me being one of them, take the simple things in life for granted, such as having a kitchen full of food,” said Caleb Marks, a sophomore at Cardozo High School. Lily Sexton of Whitestone, c o l l e c t e d 3,976 cans of food.
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