52 THE QUEENS COURIER • VALENTINE’S DAY • FEBRUARY 7, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
valentine’s day
Bayside baker will distribute sweet treats to the homeless this Valentine’s Day
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
One Bayside baker is challenging
everyone to be kind to the homeless this
Valentine’s Day.
Lisa Cotoggio, the founder of Grandma’s
Cheesecake Sandwiches, has created
the Hearts4Homeless Valentine’s Day
Challenge and will be distributing over
150 heart-shaped cheesecake sandwiches
to homeless individuals in Manhattan and
Long Island.
“I think it’s really important that we
make them feel welcome. As it is now, the
homeless population has gotten very bad
here in the city and the rest of the country
and our politicians are not doing anything
to help. So I think maybe starting this challenge
would be able to get people together
to go out and help them,” said Cotoggio.
Cotoggio created special heart-shaped
cheesecake sandwiches with cherry centers
that she plans to give out to people living in
several homeless encampments. Th e baker
uses her grandmother Raphaella’s cheesecake
recipe and sandwiches the confection
between two freshly baked cookies.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Cotoggio will be
at the Babylon and Hicksville Long Island
Railroad Stations starting at 11 a.m. On
Th ursday, Feb. 14, at 11 a.m., she will give
out the sweet treats in Midtown Manhattan
from Fift h to Seventh avenues between
32nd and 36th streets.
In a video announcement, Cotoggio challenged
viewers to hand out heart-shaped
chocolates, cupcakes and other Valentine’s
Day treats to the homeless on Valentine’s
Day. She noted that people should ensure
that the individuals they give treats to do
not have any food allergies.
“Let’s just see what we can do to make
them feel better. It is the most romantic
day of the year and they deserve to feel the
same way we do,” said Cotoggio.
Th e Valentine’s Day cheesecakes are currently
available in two varieties — cherry
and strawberry — on grandmascheesecakesandwiches.
com. For a limited time,
you can use the code 10%6PACKHEARTS
to get 10 percent off a six-pack of heart
cheesecake sandwiches.
Photo via facebook.com/grandmascheesecakesandwiches
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with everyone you love
Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers
anymore. While we naturally want to
show our signifi cant others how much
we love them on the sweetest holiday of
the year, Valentine’s Day has become a
wonderful day to celebrate everyone we
care about, from your BFF to your furry,
feathered and four-legged friends. In fact,
last year the National Retail Federation
reported that approximately 20 percent
of Americans plan to buy Valentine’s Day
gift s for their pets.
Here are some ways to share the love
with everyone who is important to you
this Valentine’s Day:
For him: For the special man in your
life, put him in charge of capturing your
special moments together with the nostalgic
Fuijifi lm Instax Mini Camera. Or for
the gamer in your life, why not spend time
playing Nintendo Switch? Maybe you’ll
even let him win.
For her: For her, there’s nothing like
setting a relaxing, romantic mood for a
memorable evening together. Celebrate
Valentine’s night with the help of a handmade
Lavender Natural Soy Wax Candle
infused with natural essential oils like lavender,
orange, lemon and cedarwood.
Th en pour a glass of her favorite wine for
both of you into All Purpose Wine Glasses
and shower her with aff ection.
For your BFFs: Sometimes on
Valentine’s Day, all you want to do is hang
with your girls. Have your BFFs over for
the perfect Galentine’s Day brunch. Get in
the party mood with some great decor like
a Glitter Galentine’s Day Banner and the
perfect playlist from Prime Music, then
prepare a waffl e feast fi t for the queens
you are with a Heart Maker Waffl e Iron.
End the day by watching an awesome
girl-power movie like “Miss Congeniality”
or “Lady Bird” on Prime Video.
For your kids: Valentine’s Day is a
great time for a festive family party with
your kids. Decorate the house for your
event together with a Light-Up Love Easel
Sign and Valentine’s Day Paper-Kit Party
Decorations. Share some sweet treats and
favorite games as a family, followed by
a fun creative activity using an easy-tomake
Plush Craft Heart Pillow Kit.
For your furry friend: More pet owners
than ever are showing their appreciation
for their animal companions by giving
them special gift s on Valentine’s Day.
No matter what size your dog is, you can
fi nd a comfy sweat suit to fi t them from
Scheppend Adidog Pet Clothes, which
come in 12 diff erent sizes and 9 cute colors.
Spoil your pooch while also watching
their health with snacks from the
Petco Treat Bar while you indulge yourself
with some yummy Chocolate Covered
Strawberries by Golden State Fruit.
It’s easy and fast to fi nd the perfect gift s
to share with all of the special humans
- and animals - in your life on amazon.
com/valentinesday, which has easyto
search categories, as well as gift s for
any budget. Curated gift choices include
everything from chocolates and fl owers
to jewelry, apparel, electronics and more.
Th ere are even ideas to plan the perfect
Date Night In. From risotto delivered
through Amazon Restaurants to dancing
to “your song” on Prime Music, it’s easy
to plan the perfect evening in.
Waited until the last minute? Don’t
panic. With Amazon Prime, a majority of
Prime members in the U.S. have access to
Free One-Day Shipping (or faster) on millions
of items, as well as access to unlimited
Free Two-Day Shipping on more than
100 million items. Prime Now even off ers
free two-hour delivery windows, reserved
exclusively for Prime members in eligible
areas, so you can still surprise your
Valentine with jewelry, fl owers or dinner.
Courtesy BPT
Grandmas Cheesecake Sandwiches heart-shaped cheesecakes
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