News Release

Contact: Diane Serratore, Director of Community Impact

Phone: 845-358-8929, ext. 14

Cell: 845-825-2615

United Way of Rockland County, The Journal News/LoHud.com and Lend-a-Hand Team Up

To Help Rockland Food Pantries

Nyack, NY, November 19 – The United Way of Rockland County received a $10,000 grant from The Journal News/LoHud.com and Lend-a-Hand to help Rockland food pantries during the holidays. “We’d been getting calls from many of the food pantries that receive federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds administered by the United Way,” said Diane Serratore, UWRC Director of Community Impact. “The food pantries are overwhelmed with requests from Rocklanders in need and they just didn’t have the resources to help them.”

So, the United Way turned to the The Journal News. Marie Smyth, circulation sales and marketing director of The Journal News, said, “ We are pleased to be able to help The United Way of Rockland County in its effort to help food pantries do the important work of providing food to their clients during the holiday season.”

Ten Rockland food pantries will receive $1,000 each to help provide food to their clients during December. Those food pantries are: Catholic Charities & Community Services of Rockland; Church of God of Prophecy – Project Hope; Community Action Partnership; Community Outreach Center; Haitian American Cultural & Social Organization; People to People; Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church ; Saint Vincent de Paul Society; Salvation Army and Tomche Shabbas.

Lend-a-Hand is a foundation, operated by The Journal News, to provide emergency relief aid to local organizations and individuals in crisis situations.

The Journal News publishes four daily editions: Southern Westchester, Central Westchester, Northern Westchester/Putnam and Rockland. It maintains a widely visited news and information website, LoHud.com, and publishes six weekly newspapers, as well as In-Town Westchester, Rockland and Putnam up-scale magazines, and various specialty publications focused on the Lower Hudson Valley region.

This year, The Journal News along with RNN, created The Hudson Valley NewsCenter Now, a live two-hour daily newscast powered by reporters and journalists at The Journal News and LoHud.com. The show appears on the RNN network.

United Way of Rockland County is a local, independent non-profit dedicated to building a stronger Rockland community. Here in Rockland we are focused on the most critical issues including protecting and meeting basic needs, nurturing children and youth and enhancing seniors’ independence.

Rockland’s United Way brings together people and resources from the entire county to create lasting changes in everyone’s lives. For more information on how to help, contact Diane Serratore at 845-358-8929, ext. 14.

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