ACTS OF KINDNESS
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Queens residents donate food to
workers impacted by shutdown
State Assemblyman David I. Weprin stands with Morris Brown — A.M.E. Church Helping Hand food pantry’s
program director — Ruth Roseborough, American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC) member Ali
Rashid, and other members of the Church and APPAC. Courtesy of Weprin’s offce
passage of a bill
agreed upon by
President Trump
and congressional
leaders to reopen
the government for
three weeks.
“Federal workers
are providing
important services
that keep our
g o v e r n m e n t
functional. If our
own government
won’t support its
workers, we as a
community must
step up,” Weprin
said on Friday,
hours before the
shutdown ended.
“I hope that this
small donation will
be able to help those
who are suffering
under this callous
shutdown,” he
added.
BY CARLOTTA
MOHAMED
Ass emblyman
David Weprin
joined the American
Pakistani Public
Affairs Committee
last week at a
Jamaica food
pantry donating
items to furloughed
federal employees
affected by the 35-
day government
shutdown.
Weprin along
with members
of the American
Pakistani Public
Affairs Committee,
collected and
prepared about
100 bags donated
on Jan. 25 to the
Morris Brown
A.M.E. Church
Helping Hand food
pantry, which has
been operating
in the Jamaica
community since
the mid-1990s
offering food
assistance through
its food pantry and
soup kitchen.
The pantry —
located at 145-03
Rockaway Blvd. —
serves 400 people
a week and accepts
donations and
volunteers.
Nearly 800,000
federal workers
affected by the
g o v e r n m e n t
shutdown for 35 days
— the longest in U.S.
history — missed two
paychecks, Weprin
said.
Many had to
choose between
paying their
mortgage, paying
for medical care and
food. The shutdown
finally ended late
on Friday with the
Federal workers are
providing important services
that keep our government
functional. If our own
government won’t support its
workers, we as a community
must step up. I hope that this
small donation will be able to
help those who are suffering
under this callous shutdown.
David Weprin
State Assemblyman
The American
Pakistani Public
Affairs Committee
(APPAC) is a
nationwide group
dedicated to
empowering the
Pakistani American
community and
promoting better
relations between the
U.S. and Pakistan.
The organization,
is among many
others in the Queens
community that
have stepped up to
the plate offering
assistance to
federal furloughed
employees to provide
for their families.
“New York
City is the world’s
melting pot, where
all cultures come
together and
coalesce.
It gives us a
grander perspective
of life and more
importantly what it
means to be human,”
said Rashid. “We
recognize our
responsibility to be
good neighbors to
each other and that
means offering our
assistance without
hesitation whenever
necessary. The
American Pakistani
Community has
stepped up to the
plate to lend their
support during a
tumultuous time. It
is something that
we as New Yorkers
should be immensely
proud of.”
The threat of
another shutdown,
however, looms if
the president and
C o n g r e s s i o n a l
leaders can’t agree
upon legislation by
Feb. 14 to fund the
government and keep
it running.
Robert Pozarycki
contributed to this
report.
TIMESLEDGER,8 FEB. 1-7, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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