PHOTO CAPTION - Legislator Birnbaum, right, is pictured with SHAI board member Parvaneh Khodadadian at the Great Neck Social Center prior to a meal delivery on Wednesday, July 22.PHOTO CREDIT - Office of Nassau County Legislator Ellen W. Birnbaum
(GREAT NECK, N.Y.) - Nassau County Legislator Ellen W. Birnbaum (D - Great Neck) visited the Great Neck Social Center on Wednesday, July 22 to thank volunteers from the Sephardic Heritage Alliance, Inc. (SHAI) for coordinating meal deliveries to dozens of Great Neck area families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parvaneh Khodadadian, a SHAI board member who coordinates the deliveries and volunteers at the Great Neck Social Center, said the organization has been regularly providing meals for approximately 40 families in Great Neck since mid-March.
“During these difficult times, we are doing our best to keep in contact with our senior population and complete food deliveries. SHAI is working in partnership with the Great Neck Social Center, Supervisor Bosworth and Project Independence to achieve this goal,” Khodadadian and Rebecca Yousefzadeh Sassouni, President of SHAI, said. “With ongoing help from SHAI, a generous donor, and the tremendous help of volunteers, we send food from different local restaurants to about 40 families on Wednesdays and Fridays. I am hoping that we will be able to continue this work until the time that is no longer needed. We are looking forward to all being together again.”
“As Nassau County continues to recover from the wide-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteer organizations like the Sephardic Heritage Alliance, Inc. continue to play an integral role in identifying the community’s needs and addressing a regional increase in food insecurity,” Legislator Birnbaum said. “Their efforts have brought comfort to dozens of families in our area, and I applaud SHAI for their unwavering commitment to service.”