Sips, sips, hooray! Long Island residents, get ready for a night of cocktails, conversation and charity. Sid Jacobson JCC’s Nikki Schwartz Memorial Community Needs Bank is hosting Cocktails for a Cause: A Networking Event on Wednesday, June 25, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The event, which is taking place at the Sid Jacobson JCC Annex, is not only intended to broaden food security across Long Island, but is also intended to bring together and educate like-minded individuals on the work of the Needs Bank.
“The event aims to raise both awareness and funds, which are always needed,” said Susan Berman, associate executive director of community engagement at Sid Jacobson JCC.
Attendees are encouraged to bring donations to the event. All donations – both monetary and food – are accepted and utilized by the Needs Bank.
“We’re always accepting donations of shelf stable, non-perishable items,” Berman said. “All of our packages are customized to each and every client, so recipients will let us know what they need, so we can customize every package that goes out to them.”
This is the fourth year Cocktails for a Cause has been running. The event first came to life when it was suggested that the Needs Bank host people’s birthdays. Peter Janowsky, managing director at Ryan & Janowsky Financial Strategies Group, volunteered to host his birthday and his networking group for businesses at the Needs Bank.
“[The networking group] is the core of Cocktails for a Cause,” Berman said. “[The event] is now also open to other individuals who want to come in and be able to learn about the Community Needs Bank and be able to see what the pantry is like and all the programs and initiatives that are that we’re putting together.”
“One of the things that has been a charge for us here at the JCC is to make the Community Needs Bank more visible and more accessible to community members who don’t know about us. We don’t want to be the hidden gem that we were,” Berman said. “We want people to know that we have a Community Needs Bank and a food pantry right here at the JCC…this networking event is a perfect example of engaging the community in a way that’s social but also educational.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Needs Bank and see the work they do to serve the community firsthand.
“We’re very excited,” Berman said. “We want to celebrate [Janoswky’s] birthday with this great, impactful evening and … get us from being a hidden gem to [being] a great resource in the community.”
