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Stamford, Conn. – Dec. 20, 2012 – AmeriCares is bringing holiday cheer to Red Hook, Brooklyn, a neighborhood devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization is hosting a Christmas Eve dinner and party for Conover House residents affected by HIV/AIDS. Children will receive toys from AmeriCares during the celebration.
The building, located on Conover Street, sustained major flood damage in the Oct. 29 storm, including the first-floor food pantry, which serves families in the building and the surrounding neighborhood. AmeriCares also awarded a $20,000 grant to Food First, Inc., the nonprofit organization that runs the residential program and food pantry, to replace damaged equipment, furniture and appliances so it can restore program services as soon as possible. The funding will allow the organization to replenish pantry food, as well as purchase a new stove and refrigerator.
“The food pantry is even more important since the storm because many grocery stores in the neighborhood are still shuttered due to storm damage,” Food First Executive Director Erin Feely-Nahem said. “We are serving as many as 340 families each week now, up from 250 before the storm. It also gives us enough funds to purchase meat for our families – a luxury we cannot typically afford.”
AmeriCares relief workers have been working nonstop since Sandy struck, delivering 110 shipments of medical aid and relief supplies to shelters and aid distribution centers in the most devastated communities. To date, the disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization has provided $2.3 million in aid, including grants, to benefit an estimated 300,000 storm victims in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
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