St. John’s University has joined with The Feinstein Foundation
in an effort to help eradicate hunger. A canned food drive is being
held during the month of April as part of the University’s goal to
meet the Feinstein Challenge. Members of the St. John’s community
are encouraged to drop off donations of canned goods at dedicated
locations in Marillac Terrace, Montgoris Hall and the Queens campus
bookstore. There are also collection locations at the Staten Island
and Manhattan campuses.
Press Release
For the 10th straight year, philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein
through his foundation will divide $1 million among institutions
and hunger fighting agencies nationwide as part of a challenge in
which organizations collect non-perishable food items and monetary
donations for those in need. The Feinstein Foundation is dedicated
to ending hunger in the United States and in the past seven years
more than 3000 participating agencies nationwide have used the
Challenge to raise more than $350 million making it one of the most
successful grassroots campaign to fight hunger ever in the United
States. At the conclusion of the Challenge, St. John’s Bread and
Life will receive a grant from the Feinstein Foundation based on
the number of cans collected.
Rev. Michael
Carroll, C.M., Executive Vice President for Mission and Branch
Campuses, expressed delight with the University’s participation in
the challenge. “St. John’s University is happy to have the
opportunity to accept the Feinstein Challenge and work with Alan
Shawn Feinstein to make a difference in the lives of hungry
people,” he said. “Our Vincentian roots of service to the poor and
the hungry make us appropriate allies with Mr. Feinstein.”
Based in Cranston, RI, Alan Shawn Feinstein is a former
journalist and educator who is the founder of the International
Famine Center at Tufts University and the Feinstein Center for a
Hunger-Free America at the University of Rhode Island. Several
schools have been named for him and he is the recipient of
countless honorary degrees. He has a Good Deeds Program in most
public and parochial schools in Rhode Island which encourages
youngsters to reach out to help those in need in their communities.
His efforts in the Rhode Island school system encouraging students
to help fight hunger in their own communities have spread to
hundreds of other schools throughout the country.
Throughout the month of April, canned goods can be donated
at:
Queens Campus
Marillac Terrace
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Montgoris Dining Hall
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in .
St. John's Bookstore
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Staten Island Campus
Office of Institutional Advancement, Lavelle
Hall, Room 301
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
DaSilva Academic Center lobby
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday, 2 - 3 p.m.
Campus Center Cafeteria
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1- 3 p.m.
Manhattan Campus
Suite 408
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
All contributions will be donated to St. John’s Bread & Life
in Brooklyn. Established in 1982 as a community outreach of St.
John the Baptist Parish, St. John’s Bread & Life provides an
array of social services including a soup kitchen, a food pantry, a
mobile soup kitchen and nutritional counseling. In September 2006,
control of the Bread & Life program was transferred to the
University by the Diocese of Brooklyn. According to Anthony Butler,
Executive Director of St. John’s Bread & Life, last year more
than 320,000 meals were served and that number is projected to
increase to 350,000 this year. Bread & Life receives 92 percent
of their support from non-government sources and for that reason
participation in the Challenge is vital, he said. “Without the
support of individuals we could not respond to this pressing need,”
Butler said. “By supporting us at this time through the Feinstein
Challenge, individuals can make an even greater impact. The
Feinstein Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for individuals to
increase their giving power and respond generously to feed their
neighbor.”