Westbury, NY - September 23, 2014 - Long Island Cares will introduce children attending the concert to their new mascot.  "The Friendly Dragon" has been developed to help Long Island Cares promote their Children's Nutrition Services programs at numerous community and special events. The new mascot will be at the concert to welcome the children, teachers and families, and to promote good nutrition and healthy eating.

"Our new mascot will add a new dimension to our work with children and hopefully encourage children to think about healthy eating and helping other children who might be less fortunate," said Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares. "According to the 2014 Feeding America Hunger in America Study, there are 69,500 children on Long Island who are impacted by hunger and food insecurity.  In addition, Long Island Cares provides nutritious meals and snacks to an additional 14,475 children through our programs.  We hope that children will be attracted to the friendly dragon as well as adults who see him popping up at various community events to support Long Island Cares."

Long Island Cares will be holding a contest at the concert to invite the 15 schools in attendance to name their new mascot. "All we know is that the mascot is a friendly dragon, but it must have a name that children find appealing and fits into our mission of feeding the hungry on Long Island," said Pachter. The school that provides the winning name will receive a visit from the friendly dragon at a school event along with a delivery of healthy snacks foods for the winning class.