On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members of the Robin Hood club participated in a Winter Wonderland food repack in Hunts Point for Food Bank NYC.
Club leader Paul Schorin (V) explained that the over six tons of food packed during MLK day “will be sent around the South Bronx area to various food pantries, soup kitchens, and other charitable organizations.” He went on to explain that during the repack, all donated junk food was declined because the goal was for families in need to receive healthy and nutritious meals.
This is not the only event on the club’s agenda in 2014. “We are already hard at work looking for other ways to tackle New York City poverty,” says Schorin. “We have a few very promising leads, particularly from charities that are similar to Food Bank, but also from educational services.”
The Robin Hood Foundation has donated over $1.1 billion to fight poverty in New York City since 1989. And in 2011 alone, Robin Hood gave $146 million to over 200 organizations.
Even with all of the work that is being done, it is hard for anyone to walk around the streets of New York and not be affected by the plight of the thousands who are homeless and hungry. Club member Sophie McNulty (IV) says that she joined the Robin Hood Club because she “care[s] about New York City and want[s] to do everything in [her] power to fight poverty and homelessness.” She told the Fieldston News that this year the Robin Hood Club will be taking a hands on approach to ending poverty. “In the past, the club concentrated on fundraising through bake sales and other small scale fundraisers. However, recently we have shifted our focus towards service work.” McNulty says that the biggest lesson she has learned is that “poverty can happen to almost anyone.”
For anyone interested in the fight against poverty in NYC, Paul Schorin encourages one and all to come to meetings in the Stu-Fac every Tuesday during activities period.
