NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FeedingNYC, an initiative from the Dream Big Foundation, has announced it will deliver a record number of Thanksgiving meals this year during its annual event on November 20, 2018 at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers. This year, over 500 volunteers from across New York will come together to deliver more than 6,000 Thanksgiving meals to families in shelters throughout New York City.

There are 2.5 million New Yorkers struggling with hunger and more than 15,000 New York families in shelters each night, including 23,000 children. The mission of FeedingNYC is to pull together as a community to help our neighbors by delivering a meal they can cook and enjoy as a family.

"We started FeedingNYC 18 years ago feeding just 40 families with a handful of volunteers," said Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson and founder of FeedingNYC. "Today we are proud to say FeedingNYC has fed more than 75,000 families across NYC. That number will continue to grow as volunteers, sponsors, and partners join us in this important program and share in the tradition of helping families facing hunger enjoy a Thanksgiving meal."

"More than 1,500 New York City families tuck their children into bed in a Win shelter each night," said Christine C. Quinn, President and CEO of Win (formerly Women in Need), New York's largest provider of shelter and support services to homeless women and their children. "At this important time of year, we are so grateful to FeedingNYC for donating and delivering thousands of meals so that Win families have the special opportunity to provide a warm Thanksgiving dinner at their own tables."

FeedingNYC has also kicked off a new program that teaches children social responsibility at a young age. The program, Cards4KidsByKids, encourages young students in NYC public schools to craft handmade cards, so each Thanksgiving meal box will also include a handmade card from a student. This year, Girl Scouts partnered with FeedingNYC to roll out the Cards4KidsByKids program.

In addition to the cards, each meal box contains a turkey, all the fixings, and an easy-to-follow recipe from renowned TAO Group Chef/Partner Ralph Scamardella, in alliance with TAO Cares.

"TAO Group and TAO Cares strive to find impactful ways to give back during the holiday season," said Ralph Scamardella, TAO Group Chef and Partner. "What FeedingNYC has done over the past 18 years is inspiring, and providing the turkey recipe for the Thanksgiving meal box was a great opportunity to help families in need cook and host their own holiday meal. Our hope is that this inspires love, comfort, and hope to those who need it most."

FeedingNYC is currently accepting donations for this year's event. A donation of just $35 can feed a family in need. Those interested in donating or volunteering should visit FeedingNYC's CrowdRise site, spotfund, or text FNYC2018 to 41411. 

About FeedingNYC
FeedingNYC is an annual charity event sponsored by the Dream Big Foundation, a nonprofit organization conceived by LivePerson CEO Robert LoCascio in the aftermath of 9/11 when the employees and friends of LivePerson assembled and hand delivered turkey dinners to disadvantaged families around New York City for Thanksgiving. With the support of the local community and corporate sponsors, the project which began in 2001 serving just 40 families in Harlem has since grown to deliver meals to more than 75,000 families throughout the five boroughs to date. Please visit www.feedingnyc.org to learn how to get involved.

About LivePerson
LivePerson makes life easier by transforming how people communicate with brands. Our 18,000 customers, including leading brands like Citibank, HSBC, Orange, and The Home Depot, use our conversational commerce solutions to orchestrate humans and AI, at scale, and create a convenient, deeply personal relationship — a conversational relationship — with their millions of consumers. For more information about LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), please visit www.liveperson.com.

Contact
Allison Franzese
afranzese@liveperson.com
212.609.4224

SOURCE LivePerson, Inc.