The RIVER FUND New York has announced the receipt of a $500,000 donation from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation presented as a gift in honor of the their new Mets family as well as re-launch of the Mets Foundation and their ties to the Queens community.
The RIVER FUND New York’s mission is “to feed and empower those we serve to move beyond the lines of poverty.” This organization supported over 15,000 working poor families from all five boroughs prior to 2020. As a result of the pandemic and the economic crisis for so many, the number of families in need grew to 33,000 by Thanksgiving of 2020.
This donation by the Cohen Foundation will help the charity navigate through the next three to four months and will enable them to continue feeding more than 33,000 families. The charitable effort will provide for the cost of warehousing, trucking, purchasing and packaging of food to help feed the area’s most vulnerable.
“Since the inception of our family’s Foundation, we’ve worked to help so many charities and causes over the years. With so many suffering due to the pandemic, our foundation has selected The RIVER FUND New York, as they are leaders in feeding families that are the most vulnerable,” said Alex Cohen, President, Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. “One of our main missions as the Mets Ownership group is to make a substantial impact in our communities. We are grateful to be in the position to be able to make a donation that will provide food for so many, especially during these challenging times.”
“The Cohen Foundation and Alex and Steve Cohen have embraced the RIVER FUND over the years in so many meaningful ways and have allowed our work to continue,” said Swami Durga Das, Founder and Executive Director of RIVER FUND. “In this extremely difficult and devastating year, they have supported our RIVER FUND families by helping to keep food on their tables and provide the essentials to survive this moment. Our gratitude is enormous. Thank you sincerely for your support of our neighbors in desperate need.”
“With this incredible $500,000 grant from the Cohen Foundation, RIVER FUND will continue to provide families with their weekly groceries, in sufficient volume and balance, to prepare nutritious meals every week for the next several months,” added Otto Starzmann, Chief Production Officer of RIVER FUND. “This commitment from philanthropic leaders like Alex and Steve, solidifies the Cohen Foundation’s partnership with RIVER FUND in addressing the constantly increasing demand for food in our City’s poverty arena.”
The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and the Mets Foundation both have long standing relationships with The RIVER FUND New York. Since 2015, both foundations have combined to donate more than $335,000 to help the Queens organization fight poverty. That financial support went towards this year’s Thanksgiving Program which delivered 6,000 turkeys to families. Additionally, the Cohen Foundation drove in-kind donations toward the organization’s annual Christmas Toy Giveaway Program. That endeavor delivered more than 5,000 toys to children who otherwise would not have received a present.
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