People In Need Inc

Hi, I'm Nowshin Ali, and I'm reaching out to you today to support People In Need Inc, a remarkable organization dedicated to assisting low-income immigrant families, particularly women. Their work is vital in creating a more inclusive and supportive community, offering resources that empower individuals and families to thrive.

As SNAP benefits will be temporarily suspended for millions of people, we are asking for community support through STOP HUNGER INITIATIVE so that no family should go hungry.

FREE HOT MEALS and other food items distribution starting Sunday, November 2nd

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Open to all — first come, first served until supplies last

If food assistance remains in jeopardy, we will continue weekly distribution until restored.

■ SUPPORT THE CAUSE

Donate non-perishable staple items

Venmo: @peopleinneed

PayPal: charity/2662593

■ VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP

signupgenius.com/go/70a094badaf2aab9-people

SNAP benefits are scheduled to run out on November 1rst, which will have a huge impact on the children and families of South Brooklyn.

In a crisis like this, we have to fund local food banks.

We must help the helpers.

Personally, I can't let children I know from playgrounds and school recitals - or their parents - skip meals without taking action. Any donation, big or small, makes a difference for a local family.

People in Need is a great local organization that feeds our neighbors in the neighborhoods of Kensington and Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

Nowshin Ali started People in Need with her incredible restaurant, Jalsa, on Coney Island Avenue in 2016. She is also a personal hero of mine. When COVID first hit Brooklyn in March of 2020, she reached out to hundreds in our community. Together, we figured out who was sick, who needed food, and how we could all pitch in to get supplies to neighbors who needed them.

Nowshin changed my idea of the responsibilities I have to my neighbors forever. And she is well prepared to help our children get meals in this food shortage crisis.

Nowshin and P.I.N. have been honored by groups such as the NYC City Council, Bklyner, and even the George H.W. Points of Light Foundation (ah, simpler times).

Here are two articles about People in Need and Jalsa from the New Yorker and Bklyner.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/an-indian-restaurant-in-little-pakistan-feeds-its-neighbors

https://bklyner.com/an-extraordinary-neighbor-nowshin-ali-is-100-present/

Many families have joined our PS217 community in recent weeks.

People In Need is collecting and distributing funds to help them get settled. Money raised will be used to purchase bulk necessities and provided directly to folks so they can decide how to best meet their own needs.

Any amount will help!

Funds can also be donated through Venmo @peopleinneed or directly to People In Need EIN Number: 81-2473789 without processing fees, with the note: "Aid for PS217 New Neighbors"

Muchas familias se han unido a nuestra comunidad de PS217 en las últimas semanas. People In Need está recaudando y distribuyendo fondos para ayudarlos a establecerse. El dinero recaudado se utilizará para comprar productos básicos y se entregará directamente a la gente para que puedan decidir cómo satisfacer sus propias necesidades.

¡Cualquier cantidad ayudará!

Los fondos también se pueden donar a través de Venmo @peopleinneed o directamente a People In Need EIN Number: 81-2473789 sin tarifas de procesamiento, con la nota: "Aid for PS217 New Neighbors"

We're raising money to help survivors of domestic abuse here in Brooklyn transition from life in a shelter into their own home. After months of life in a shelter, moving into an apartment can be uniquely challenging and overwhelming—especially when there are children involved. So we're raising money to provide local survivors with the resources they need to transition smoothly—furniture, bedding, clothing and cooking supplies—and land on their feet in their new life.

All money raised with be distributed by People in Need, an extraordinary Brooklyn non-profit in Flatbush/Kensington that works tirelessly to assist local low-income families and individuals in the area. Learn more about People in Need here .

One silver lining of the pandemic has been the incredible generosity of neighbors such as you have shown to each other in providing a helping hand, whether through donating money, time, and spiritual support. People In Need is fortunate to have an abundant supply of volunteers and donors who have vastly exceeded the dream we had when we started the food program. To date, we have provided food and referral services to over 5,000 families through recurring home deliveries and over 20 “open to all” food box distribution events. We could not have done so much without your help. We thank you. We are asking for another donation to get our latest program--A COMMUNITY KITCHEN providing culinary training--off the ground.

 

Now, in order to enable the women (specially single moms & domestic violence survivors)  we have been helping achieve more stable economic independence, we wish to go beyond providing food deliveries, although that will continue.

Our idea: create a culinary training program that will turn the women’s existing cooking skills into income streams. By training the women to produce meal prep kits, cut salad and fruit, samosas, baked goods, juices, smoothies, and other marketable items, tied to basic business skills, program participants will, right from the start, share in the proceeds their cooking will generate. In addition to selling goods at our new People’s Farmers’ Market at 964 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11230 every Sunday from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, we already have several food coops expressing interest in buying those goods to sell to their members. And that is without mentioning the booming market for samosas and other traditional foods during festivals! Can Smorgasburg be far behind?

 

We have a great commercial kitchen--the one Jalsa will leave behind as it moves several blocks down Coney Island Avenue to a new location later this year. Now we need your help again to make the culinary program--what we are calling, for now, the ONE WORLD COMMUNITY KITCHEN--a reality.

 

Our goal for this fundraising campaign is ambitious, but we know how caring our community can be. We seek to seed the One World Community Kitchen by raising $100,000 by year end. We hope foundations and the government will help, but first we want to show the community’s strong support, so they know they are building upon a solid base.

 

Won’t you help jumpstart our campaign? Not only will you have the satisfaction of knowing you gave our women the tools for a new life, but soon, you can come taste the results for yourself!

 

Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

 

More information about People In Need Inc: Our mission is to assist low-income families that speak a variety of languages to reach their full potential as residents of New York City. We aim to empower the community, especially women, to advocate for their rights and understand their responsibilities as Americans and to help immigrant children with homework and personality development through various after school programs. Lastly, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been helping the community get through emergencies. www.peopleinneednyc.org