The 3rd Annual Bethpage Turkey & Trimmings Drive to benefit Island Harvest, Long Island's largest hunger relief organization, will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. outside of Bethpage's main branch located at 899 South Oyster Bay Road in Bethpage. Long Islanders are asked to donate frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, supermarket turkey vouchers, or cash donations, which will help Island Harvest supply meals to over 285,000 hungry Long Islanders in time for the holidays.
Also, from November 1 - November 16, 2011, Nassau and Suffolk County residents unable to travel to Bethpage's main branch on November 16th, are encouraged to drop off non-perishable food donations to any of Bethpage's 24 branch locations. For a complete list of locations, visit www.lovebethpage.com. Every person who makes a donation will receive tickets to a NY Islanders hockey game.
Year after year, the turkey drive draws in hundreds of community volunteers in the collection of thousands of turkeys and tens of thousands of pounds of much needed food - an effort that illustrates Long Islanders' strong desire to support its neighbors, said Linda Armyn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Bethpage has always been a proud supporter of the Long Island community, and it is rewarding to see that we are not alone in our efforts.
The Bethpage Turkey & Trimming Drive, an Island - wide effort, is organized and supported by Cablevision, Newsday, NY Islanders, LI Radio Group, Coliseum Caterers, Girl Scouts of Nassau and Girl Scouts of Suffolk. Since the first Bethpage Turkey Drive was organized in 2009, hundreds of Long Island residents and volunteers have come out to assist in the collection of over 6,500 turkeys and 12,000 pounds of food, which were then provided to Long Island's many families in need in time for the holidays.
With so many people in need, its important that we come together as a community to support Island Harvest in its mission to fight hunger on Long Island, said Lisa Trimarchi, Vice President of Employee Services, Cablevision Systems Corporation.
Cablevision's roots are right here on Long Island, so we couldn't be more pleased to join with Bethpage again this year to help address this grave issue affecting the communities we serve.
A critical issue on Long Island, hunger currently affects an estimated 285,000 Long Islanders - including 110,000 Long Island children - according to a study by Island Harvest and Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization. Island Harvest volunteers and staff supply a network of 570 local pantries, soup kitchens, and other feeding programs with critical food support to help stem the advancing tide of hunger on Long Island. Since its inception in 1992, Island Harvest has delivered more than 71 million pounds of food, supplementing nearly 54 million meals.
Hunger has become a year-round issue on Long Island and Bethpage Federal Credit Union has established itself as a valued partner in helping Island Harvest address the very real problem of hunger in our local communities," said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest. Their continued generosity and encouragement of others to get involved in the fight against hunger is helping to make a big difference in the lives of those Long Islanders who know the insidious effects of hunger all too well.
For the third year, the Bethpage Turkey Drive will also receive support from The Girl Scouts of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, where hundreds of troops are expected to collect non-perishable donations, make drop offs at Bethpage's branches throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties and in return, receive Girl Scout patches from Bethpage.
Bethpage Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative, existing solely to serve its members and has experienced rapid growth in recent years to become a strong alternative to banks. Bethpage was approved for the largest federal community charter in the U.S. in 2003 and now is Long Island's largest credit union and leading community financial institution with over 190,000 members, 24 branches and 60 shared service center locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. As a financial cooperative, Bethpage offers better rates, lower fees and a full menu of personal and commercial financial services.
Bethpage maintains branch locations in Bay Shore, Bay Shore King Kullen, Bethpage, Central Islip, Commack King Kullen, Elmont, Farmingdale, Freeport, Glen Cove, Hempstead, Huntington, Levittown King Kullen, Lynbrook, Massapequa, Melville, Mineola, North Babylon, Port Jefferson, Riverhead, Seaford, Smithtown, Roosevelt and Westbury with over 350 surcharge-free ATMs in King Kullen, 7-Eleven, Walgreens and Costco locations throughout Long Island. For more information, call 1-800-628-7070 or visit www.lovebethpage.com.