Latest news with #UnitedWayofNYC
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC's food pantries and soup kitchens await federal funds
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Thousands of people across New York City benefit from food pantries and soup kitchens, but many of these local organizations stopped receiving funding when the Trump administration decided to pause funding. Although that order was rescinded local organizations have still not received the funds for money that has already been spent. More Local News 'It's not about just someone being homeless, everyone has a different story,' said Empress Lyriz, who recently lost both her mother and grandmother and currently doesn't have a place to live. Every day, she lines up outside neighbors together to grab a free meal from the community café. The organization has been serving meals twice a day for over 40 years in the Ocean Hill/Brownsville section of Smythe, director of programs and human resources at Neighbors Together says, 'We serve about 700 meals per day, so we are looking at around 200-300 families.'But their meal program is at risk. That's because their funds come from the emergency food and shelter program, which is FEMA-funded and was established back in the 80s. But back in January was ordered to be paused by the incoming administration'On Jan. 27 the federal Office of Management and Budget issued an order that said we are not going to pay any federal grants until further notice.' More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Cheryl Huber at United Way of NYC — a FEMA partner— says they oversee determining which local organizations can receive the program's federal funds. She says although the memo issued by Trump's administration was rescinded, the FEMA program has not been allowed to release payments to local service providers including soup kitchens and shelters. Out of 220 organizations relying on the funding to feed & shelter those in need, 95 organizations are owed money for work they have already done. According to Bennett Gershman, a PACE law school professor, the action by the federal government was unlawful and unlike anything we've seen before. 'It's not really clear once you've frozen then you rescind it, how do you get back to where you were?' In a statement, FEMA said in part: 'Per Secretary Noem's direction on grants to non-governmental organizations memorandum, FEMA and DHS are instituting additional reviews on all grants to non-governmental organizations as well as funding for non-congregate sheltering activities.'United Way of NYC has reached out to the congressional delegation of New York for support to see if they can push for the funds to be released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
United Way of NYC's free book initiative in Bronx boosts literacy
THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) — A Bronx small business owner is helping families with children under five years old get free books. It's all thanks to the United Way of New York City giving hundreds of thousands of books across our area. More Local News At the United Way of NYC 19th Annual Power of Women to Make a Difference luncheon, Lillian Guzman is one of those powerful women making it happen in her Bronx neighborhood. Lillian Cortes-Guzman is a mother of four she made sure books were a big part of her children's lives. One of her proudest achievements is her 21-year-old daughter Nia Pack. Cortes-Guzman is the owner of Happy Tots, a beloved and respected daycare on 145th Street in Mott Haven for more than 20 years and a trusted partner in the United Way of NYC's Books from Birth program. It's a free book delivery program that has helped give more than 400,000 books since 2019. Grace Bonilla is the president and CEO of the United Way of NYC which runs the program. Bonilla hosted the United Way of NYC 19th Annual Power of Women to Make a Difference luncheon, celebrating community champions, women leading the way, and helping to raise money for dozens of programs like the Books from Birth program. Bonilla says the key to a child's success and learning is reading early. In 2023, PIX11's Monica Morales went with Grace Bonilla the president and CEO of the United Way of NYC, to where she was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens. She says it's where she first learned her sense of community and service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
