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Community Corner

Mangano Honors Long Island Board of Realtors' Fight to End Hunger

Organization donates $2,500 in gift cards to help buy food for needy families.

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, R - Bethpage, honored the Long Island Board of Realtors in a ceremony commemorating their 100th anniversary and their continuing fight to end hunger on Long Island Wednesday at the  building.

Mangano presented a citation to LIBOR President Kathy Engel on behalf of Nassau County to thank the realtor's organization for their generous donations over the years. "They are celebrating 100 years, a century of service to the Long Island community," the County Executive said.

Kathy Engel, who is coming to the end of her term as LIBOR President, said that she was pleased with the work they have done to eradicate the plight of needy families, especially those who go hungry.

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LIBOR began their Realtors Against Hunger (RAH) campaign in 2008. The RAH campaign began collecting donations of food and money to help feed Long Island's neediest families. That first year over 100 offices in Nassau and Suffolk participated. When contributions had finished being collected, LIBOR partnered with Island Harvest to distribute the food stuffs to local pantries, soup kitchens, parishes, shelters, and other programs designed to help those without the means to get nourishment.

Island Harvest is Long Island's largest hunger relief organization, serving to help bridge the gap between those with food and those without it. They collect food from a tremendous network of supermarkets, restaurants, and other food related businesses and re-distribute the goods to over 500 programs that feed the hungry including daycare facilities and senior citizen outreach charities.

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To mark the 100 anniversary of its inception, LIBOR offered 100 $25 gift cards to help buy any food items it needs going into the holiday season. About 100 families across Long Island will benefit from the gift cards, which can be used to buy groceries.

"We very much value the contributions of the County and LIBOR, with whom we've had a long standing relationship" Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shuben Dresner said, pointing out that although donations have risen, despite economic woes, the need for contributions has become ever greater.

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