8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 10, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens lawmakers launch donation drive to help Ukrainian refugees
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In their eff orts to provide aid for Ukrainian
refugees, the Queens borough president’s
offi ce and Council members from
the Queens Delegation, along with local
organizations launched a boroughwide donation
drive on Monday, March 7, to collect
supplies for those who have fl ed to Poland
to escape the ongoing Russian invasion.
Th e Queens borough president’s offi ce is
encouraging all Queens residents to consider
donating in support of the “proud and
courageous Ukrainian people who have
inspired us all.”
“In less than two weeks, Vladimir Putin’s
vile and illegal invasion of Ukraine has already
claimed thousands of lives and forced
more than 1 million innocent families to
flee their beloved homeland,” Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards
said. “Th ose who have remained in Ukraine
are in desperate need of medical supplies,
especially as the Russian government recklessly
escalates its brutality against the local
population.”
Th e borough president’s offi ce is collecting
first-aid kits, bandages, gauze,
tourniquets and over-the-counter medications
such as aspirin, acetaminophen and
ibuprofen.
Donations will be accepted at Queens
Borough Hall, located at 120-55 Queens
Blvd. in Kew Gardens. Donations can be
dropped off in a box located on the fi rst
fl oor of Borough Hall next to the security
desk in the lobby, just inside the building’s
main entrance on Queens Boulevard. Th e
lobby is open 24 hours a day.
Items collected this week during the
drive, launched with the help of Kevin Ly
and Amanda Deebrah of Richards’ Queens
General Assembly, will be delivered to the
NYPD, which is conducting an identical
donation drive at all 77 precincts through
March 11. Th e Queens borough president’s
offi ce will continue to accept donations aft er
March 11, with the goal of sharing collected
items with a verifi ed nonprofi t organization
working on the ground in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Councilmen James Gennaro
and Robert Holden have teamed up with
the Queens Delegation and local organizations
to host a community donation drive.
Several lawmakers from the Queens
Delegation — Council members Francisco
Moya, Vickie Paladino, Selvena Brooks-
Powers, Linda Lee, Nantasha Williams
and Sandra Ung — will collect items at
their district offi ce.
Th e Associazione Culturale Italiana Di
New York will cover the cost of shipment to
Rzeszow, a city in Poland located near the
border of Ukraine. Th e Polish Consulate
and President of Rzeszow, Konrad Fijołek,
are helping to coordinate the fi nal dropoff
in Poland, ensuring donations will go
directly to Ukrainian refugees.
“I was deeply moved when I saw the
atrocities taking place in Ukraine, and
was compelled to help. It is an honor and a
privilege to help organize this drive, which
I hope will yield many useful donations for
the people who have been displaced by
this needless bloodshed,” Gennaro said.
“Th is is a large-scale, joint eff ort that could
not happen without the help of our many
community partners.”
As the invasion of Ukraine touches the
world, Holden said he’s proud that his fellow
New Yorkers of many diverse cultures
in Queens are once again eager to help.
“I thank all who donate these badly
needed items and all who made this drive
possible, including Comm. Tony Di Piazza,
Comm. Joseph Ficalora, the Federazione
Italo-Americana Di Brooklyn and Queens,
the Associazione Culturale Italiana Di New
York, my fellow elected offi cials and all the
numerous organizations who have come
together to show the world that we care
about the people of Ukraine,” Holden said.
Th ere are a total of 25 sponsors for the
drive assisting with logistics ranging from
transport to outreach to fi nancial assistance.
The list of sponsors also includes
the Federazione Italo-Americana Di
Brooklyn and Queens, Comm. Tony Di
Piazza, Comm. Joseph Ficalora, ECS
Globe Air, WAW Humanitarian Goods,
Fucsia Fitzgerald Nissoli, Ficalora Family
Foundation, the CHAZAQ Organization,
Chaverim of Queens, New York Community
Bank, Maspeth Federal Savings Bank,
Cross County Savings Bank, Webster Bank,
Richmond County Savings Foundation and
Seka Moving Company.
In a joint statement, the Federazione
Italo-Americana Di Brooklyn and Queens,
Di Piazza and Ficalora said the events unfolding
in Ukraine are of extreme concern
to the Italian American community.
“Th e events unfolding in Ukraine are of
extreme concern to the Italian American
community, and we cannot sit idle and continue
watching the death and destruction,”
the organizations said. “Our organizations
for several decades have been generous
for numerous causes, and we have come
together once again to assist those in need.
Comm. Tony Di Piazza and Comm. Joseph
Ficalora are also proud to contribute a collective
$100,000 to the cause. Our thoughts
are with the Ukrainian people, and we pray
for peace in Eastern Europe.”
Residents who wish to support the
Queens Delegation’s eff orts may donate
canned food, clothing, children’s toys
(without batteries), sealed pet food and
toiletries.
High-demand items include non-perishable
food, clothes and footwear, thermal
underwear, hygiene products, blankets,
bedding, disposable tableware, fi rst aid kits,
tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, standalone
lamps and candles.
Photo by Sarah Silbiger/REUTERS
A person holds a sign with a QR code for donations during a protest against Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine outside the White House in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2022.
How to help
Th e donation drive will run through
next week, with the following dates,
times and locations below:
• Council member Vickie Paladino
— March 7-11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(20-15 Francis Lewis Blvd. in
Whitestone)
• Council member Selvena Brooks-
Powers – March 7-11, 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. (1931 Mott Ave., Suite 410 in
Far Rockaway)
• Council member Linda Lee –
March 7-11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(73-03 Bell Blvd. in Oakland
Gardens)
• Council member Nantasha
Williams – March 7-11, 9 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. (122-05 Smith St. in
Jamaica)
• Council member Sandra Ung –
March 7-11, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(135-27 38th Ave., Suite 388 in
Flushing)
• Council member James F.
Gennaro and the CHAZAQ
Organization – March 10, 4 p.m.
to 7 p.m. (141-47 72 Ave. in Kew
Gardens Hills)
• Council member Francisco Moya
– March 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(106-01 Corona Ave. in Corona)
• Council member Robert Holden
and the Associazione Culturale
Italiana Di New York – March 12-
13, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (66-31 Fresh
Pond Road in Ridgewood)
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