Hundreds Volunteer to Help New Yorkers in Need with Thanksgiving and Chanukah Giveaway

This year, the Met Council in NYC, the UJA Federation, and hundreds of volunteers were able to distribute over 4,000 gift boxes for their Chanukah and Thanksgiving giveaway.

“This is Chanukah packages for holocaust survivors. It’s warm meals and then warm clothes for those who need it for the winter,” Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA Federation of New York told WLNY.

Both organizations said that this year took a tremendous effort to find all of the items for the give away.

“It was difficult to get 2,000 packages of Chanukah candles due to supply chain issues,” Shelby Brown, director of volunteer services for the Met Council said. “In a way, we need to be more planful and intentional to make sure everyone has what they need.”

Two thousand of the gift boxes are just for holocaust survivors. The organizers mentioned that they want each one of them to be reminded of the Chanukahs of their youth and the opening of the presents. In fact, each box comes with a handwritten note signed by the volunteer who helped to put the box together.

“It makes me feel great. It’s a nice thing to do, especially with Thanksgiving and Chanukah coming up. It seems like exactly in the spirit of this time of year,” Katie Hartman, a volunteer said.

This year Chanukah will start on Nov. 29 - right after the thanksgiving weekend.