The final score is in and YCP's 2013 SOUP-er Bowl has come to an end. A HUGE thank you to all of the participating schools and organizations that collected stew, soup, and pasta for us to provide to thousands of families! Thanks to your spirit, dedication and generosity, this year's SOUP-er Bowl was our most successful one to date! With almost 11,000 cans of soup and boxes of past collected, we will be able to provide warm, comforting food to all of our families during these cold winter months.

A special congratulations goes out to this year's SOUP-er Bowl champion: The Buckley School!!! Thanks to the students' creativity and spirit, Buckley collected a record-breaking 4,500 items! This is more than any single school or organization has collected in the past. Fantastic job, Buckley!

With a very impressive collection of 3,140 items, our second place winner is Horace Mann! Thanks for working so hard to achieve this amazing score. Trevor Day School is our third place winner with a collection of 1,447 items--incredible!

Special thanks to Riverdale Country School for their collection of 500 items, Regis High School for donating 472 healthy and hearty items, and St. Bernard's for collecting 313 items for our families! Additional thanks to Ramaz, West Point, East Side Middle School, St. Joseph's, Apple Bank, and Seton Day Care Center for participating in the 2013 SOUP-er Bowl! You all played such an important role in helping to make this year's SOUP-er Bowl the best one yet!

For more information about the SOUP-er Bowl, or if you would like to participate in additional food drives throughout the year, please contact Jen Winter at 917-720-9710 or jwinter@ycp.org.

There's been an interception in YCP's SOUP-er Bowl! Trevor Day School is on the board with 948, and Horace Mann is in the lead with over 1,000 points!

It's halftime in YCP's SOUP-er Bowl! Check out Riverdale Country School's collection. It was so big we couldn't even fit it all in one picture! They are our current leaders with a score of 500. There are plenty of other teams still on the field. We're excited to share the final scores with you next week!

It's a close game in YCP's SOUP-er Bowl! Riverdale Country School is still in the lead, but Trevor Day School is close behind with a fantastic score of 400! There's still plenty of time for other teams to rise to victory...good luck to all the participants!

We've got another team on the field....Buckley has an impressive early score of 127. It's still anyone's game! GO TEAMS!

HAPPY SOUP-er BOWL!

The teams are out on the field, the coin has been tossed, and the first play is complete. The SOUP-er Bowl has begun! West Point - The U.S. Military Academy scored a first down by collecting over 100 cans of low-sodium soups and stews and boxes of pasta. Riverdale also made a great first play and currently has a score of 470!! With the snow falling and frigid temperatures, we are excited to add these items to the menu so that our families can stay warm and their stomachs can stay full! Though we can't offer a Beyonce performance at halftime, we believe future SOUP-er Bowl updates may be just as entertaining! Stay tuned, and e-mail Jen at jwinter@ycp.org to get your score published!

The winter months can be really cold but what better way to beat the blues than to participate in our Soup-er Bowl? From mid-January to February 4th, we are asking for donations of low-sodium soup and stew as well as boxes of pasta. Organizations that wish to join have the option of having their progress tracked on our website each week.

If you're interested in finding out more about our Soup-er Bowl, please contact Jen Winter at jwinter@ycp.org

Last updated: 1.2.13
We're shifting our call to request new donations of both non-perishable food and produce for sites that can cook hot meals, as well as specific goods listed here that can provide warmth, safety, and comfort.


Current Superstorm Sandy Recovery needs include

Food items:
Canned or Boxed Non-Perishable Food
Cases of Bottled Water
Shelf stable Milk
Tea /Coffee (dry)
Pet Food


And other supplies:
Laundry Soap
Dish Soap
Blankets
Toiletries (deodorant, feminine hygiene products, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.)
New winter/wool socks
Air Mattresses
Headlamps
D, C, AA, AAA batteries
Handwarmers
Toilet Paper
Lanterns
Flashlights
Batteries
Baby wipes
Diapers (adult and child)
Large aluminum trays and lids

Medical Supplies:
Hydrogen Peroxide
Adult cough drops


Cleanup Supplies:
Sponges & Rags
Heavy duty contractor trash bags
Borax
White Vinegar
Crow bars
Pry bars
Work gloves
Mops
Brooms
Duct Tape
Shovels
N95 dust masks
Tyvek Worksuits
Moldicide
SimpleGreen Cleaner
Particle Respirator Masks with P100 or R100 filters
Dehumidifiers
White distilled vinegar

YCP is responding to the Hurricane and we have a couple of specific volunteer opportunities listed below. Here is a message about the current situation from our Executive Director, Stephen Grimaldi:


Hurricane Sandy. We all have been impacted in some way.

Parts of our city remain blacked out and people are hurting. After a normally busy Wednesday, requests for food and assistance have risen each day as people go without power. We have seen new pantry members, demand for hot meals and brown bag service, and requests for emergency provisions rise. We are hearing people talk about spoilage, a lack of cooking facilities to prepare food, and often a lack of resources to purchase it.

At YCP we continue to serve breakfast each weekday morning. Dinner three nights a week. Emergency pantry seven days a week. Supplemental pantry four days a week. Now we are reaching out to deliver meals across the city. We have increased our output and will do so to serve our fellow New Yorkers during this time of need. Please know we are here for anyone that needs us. Come by, call, email or visit our website for more information if you need to get help.

If you are able to give help, YCP is looking for volunteers to assist with our Emergency Food Relief Project that will serve as an immediate response in the coming week:

* We're asking for twenty-five volunteers to come to YCP on Tuesday (November 6th) from 10:30am-2:30pm to continue efforts started by Robin Hood Foundation, Fairway Market, and others to make brown bag meals to be provided to people in the communities most affected.

* If you are unable to come in on Tuesday, we are asking for people to make brown-bag meals off-site that can be brought to YCP. If you are able to participate in this project, we are asking that each brown bag meal consist of two deli sandwiches individually sealed (ziplock preferred), a snack item, such as granola bars, and a juice box. These brown bag meals can be delivered to YCP beginning Monday, November 5th through Thursday, November 8th.

If you would like to help on Tuesday or are able to make brown bag meals throughout the week, please contact Jen Winter at jwinter@ycp.org.

We are so grateful for the immediate response of our volunteers and we ask for your patience as we work within our capacity to put you to work for our city.

If you are in a position to donate, please consider doing so at this time, at http://tinyurl.com/YCPDonate.

On September 13, 2012, Karen C. Altfest, executive vice president at Altfest Personal Wealth Management, was honored with the Community Leadership Award for Community Service by Invest in Others Charitable Foundation.

Held annually at Cipriani, 42nd Street, the event recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of financial advisors who have made service to their communities a focal point of their life's work.

Karen was instrumental in starting YCP in 1979 and was the Board Chair and President when YCP became an official 501 (c)(3) organization.

In addition to Karen receiving her award, YCP is the recipient of a $20,000 check from the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation.

Karen, we thank you for all you've done for YCP. Congratulations!

*picture courtesy of Invest in Others Charitable Foundation