Program to benefit Island Harvest and Long Island Cares
 
(Long Island, N.Y.) Long Island Credit Unions, a cooperative group of 12 credit unions, will join together once again to support Long Island’s leading hunger relief organizations Island Harvest and Long Island Cares, Inc. – The Harry Chapin Food Bank.  This will be the third year the Long Island Credit Unions have conducted an Island-wide food drive and fund raising campaign during the month of October.  In keeping with the long-held mission of credit unions — “people helping people” — donations of food will be collected at each participating credit union branch beginning October 1.  Cash contributions will also be welcomed using secure receptacles at each credit union location or visit www.licreditunions.org for a mail-in address and contact.  Cash donations are tax-deductible.
 
The members of the Long Island Credit Unions are proud to be working in a cooperative campaign to support Island Harvest and Long Island Cares, helping to feed children and adults on Long Island. The credit unions have collected 9,667 pounds of food and donations amounting to $145,061.00 over the past two years. 

“The high cost of living continues to have an impact on individuals and families who are struggling financially here on Long Island.  The Long Island Credit Unions’ food drive will once again make a tremendous difference in the lives of thousands of adults and children who are affected by hunger,” said Paule T. Pachter, Executive Director of Long Island Cares. 
The following credit unions will be participating this year: Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Island Federal Credit Union, Heart Center Federal Credit Union, Long Island Realtors Federal Credit Union, Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union, Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union, North Shore LIJ Health System Federal Credit Union, People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union, Sperry Federal Credit Union, Teachers Federal Credit Union, Town of Hempstead Employees Federal Credit Union, and Winthrop University Hospital Employees Federal Credit Union.
 
“Each week more than 65,000 people access soup kitchens, food pantries and emergency feeding programs in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said Randi Shubin Dresner, President and CEO of Island Harvest.  We appreciate the efforts of the Long Island Credit Unions in sponsoring the October food drives, their continued support is vital to the success of our mission of fighting hunger right here on Long Island.”

Food drive donations and funds raised in the campaign will be distributed equally to Island Harvest and Long Island Cares later in the year.  Each is a well-established 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization bringing food and sustenance to Long Island’s neediest.

For more information visit: www.licreditunions.org.
 
About Long Island Credit Unions
Credit Unions are celebrating over 100 years in America, dating back to the first charter of St. Mary’s Bank in 1908, followed in 1909 by the Massachusetts Credit Union Act, the first state credit union law in the United States.  Credit unions are financial cooperatives, based on providing cost-savings to families.  Governed by volunteers, not shareholders, credit unions have a mission to serve the underserved.  On Long Island, credit unions were first formed in the 1940s.
 
Long Island Cares – The Harry Chapin Food Bank
is a leading anti-hunger organization and Long Island’s first food bank, serving the hungry on Long Island since 1980.  Long Island Cares brings together all available resources for the benefit of the hungry on Long Island and provides emergency food where and when it is needed, and sponsors programs that help families achieve self-sufficiency. The organization was founded by the late singer/activist Harry Chapin in response to the immediate needs of hungry Long Islanders. It is continued by his wife and partner Sandy Chapin, a dedicated board of directors and talented staff working out of their 35,000 square foot facility in Hauppauge. Long Island Cares is a member agency of the Food Bank Association of New York State and Feeding America.  For more information visit www.licares.org.

About Island Harvest
Fighting hunger and touching lives, Island Harvest serves as the bridge between those who have surplus food and those who need it, supplying over 570 community-based nonprofit organizations on Long Island with critical food support to help stem the advancing tide of hunger in our communities.  Island Harvest has delivered more than 63 million pounds of food, supplementing nearly 49 million meals, since its inception in 1992.  In support of its mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island, the organization is actively involved in education, outreach, advocacy, job training and hunger awareness programs. Island Harvest is a member of Feeding America.  For more information about Island Harvest, visit www.islandharvest.org.