Photo Flash: Patrick Page Visits Sidewalk Santa School

Volunteers of America (VOA), one of the nation's oldest and most effective human services organizations in the nation, will launch their 109th Annual Sidewalk Santa ® Campaign. Money collected will go to their Holiday Food Voucher program. The traditional launch for the program will be the annual Sidewalk Santa® parade on Friday, November 25, the morning after Thanksgiving. More than 50 fully-suited Sidewalk Santas® will march on Fifth Avenue, spreading holiday cheer and reminding us to remember our neighbors in need during the holiday season. In preparation, Sidewalk Santa® School took place at VOA Headquarters on the Upper West Side yesterday, November 17. SPIDER-MAN star Patrick Page was there for the special event, and you can check out photos of him in action below!

In 1902, the first Sidewalk Santas® hit the streets of New York, ringing their bells and collecting coins in chimneys on street corners throughout the city. The annual Sidewalk Santa Parade through midtown Manhattan on the day after Thanksgiving has become a beloved tradition for New Yorkers and visitors alike, and serves as a gentle reminder that many of our neighbors struggle to put food on their table. VOA's Sidewalk Santas® are stationed beside their signature chimneys across Manhattan on Fridays in December, ringing their bells and raising money to help feed those in need.

Rachel Weinstein, Vice President & Chief Development and Communications Officer for Volunteers of America-Greater New York, says the need for the Holiday Food Voucher program is immense. "With one in five New Yorkers living below the national poverty level, homelessness near record levels, and government programs being cut, our help can make a vital difference to thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors."

1.6 million New Yorkers currently live in poverty and struggle to put food on their tables. Last year VOA distributed more than 1,300 food vouchers throughout the Greater New York Area; but there were requests for many more. Acting as cash, the vouchers can be used at participating local markets for food only, providing low-income families, homebound older adults and people living with HIV/AIDS or other serious illnesses an opportunity to shop for and prepare a meal at home. Rather than relying on a food pantry or soup kitchen, the recipients of the Holiday Food Vouchers can enjoy a special holiday meal that respects their individual health, religious or other dietary restrictions.

Volunteers of America has created additional ways of raising funds for the Holiday Food Voucher program, by enlisting corporate sponsors and driving more individual donors to their online "Virtual Sidewalk Santa" site: www.SidewalkSantaNYC.org. VOA is actively seeking the support of new sponsors to adapt and expand this historic program for the 21st century.

Since its founding in New York City in 1896, Volunteers of America has been at the forefront of social service, delivering life-changing and, in many cases, life-saving services to people in need. One of the nation's oldest and largest human services organizations, serving nearly 50,000 people in need in the Greater New York area each year, VOA is dedicated to helping individuals and families in need create positive and lasting change, through social service programs that support and empower them to live safe, healthy and productive lives. From pre-schoolers with developmental delays to older adults wishing to age at home rather than face institutionalization; from families recovering from domestic violence to veterans in need of housing and other services, Volunteers of America-Greater New York offers practical and compassionate support to thousands of the most vulnerable men, women and children in our community each year.

Donations can also be made online at www.sidewalksantaNYC.org

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff