NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FeedingNYC announced today that it will deliver over 5,000 Thanksgiving dinners this year to families in shelters throughout New York City.

With one in five children in New York City facing hunger, FeedingNYC pulls together a community of volunteers, sponsors, and partners to help our neighbors by funding, packing, and delivering meals that families in need can cook and enjoy as a family. Seventy percent of the New York City shelter population is made up of families, and 45,600 children sleep in NYC shelters each year.

The 5,000 Thanksgiving dinners — each containing a full-size turkey, all the fixings, and a hand-crafted greeting card from a local New York City artist — will be delivered on November 24, marking FeedingNYC's 19th year and a 25% increase over the number of meals delivered in 2019 as the community effort continues to grow. FeedingNYC was started in the wake of 9/11 with a handful of volunteers feeding about 40 families. Since then, it has organized 7,000 volunteers to serve Thanksgiving dinners to more than 80,000 families.

"While the pandemic made it harder than ever to source thousands of dinners, that just means our mission to help our neighbors in need is more critical than ever," said Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson and founder of FeedingNYC. "The population we serve has had an extremely difficult year, as they're most vulnerable to the pandemic. We want them to know they haven't been forgotten, and we're more driven than ever to provide a sense of normalcy and happiness for their Thanksgiving this year."

FeedingNYC's main beneficiary is Win (formerly Women in Need), New York City's largest provider of shelter and services to homeless families, especially for women and children. Other 2020 beneficiaries include Henry Street Settlement, Volunteers of America, and several NYC public schools. FeedingNYC is sponsored by LivePerson, OutPLEX, and Kirkland & Ellis, and supported by corporate and individual donors from all corners of the world.

"The pandemic has hit homeless families with children in New York City particularly hard. And now, many will be forced to spend the holidays apart from loved ones. At a moment when nothing else feels normal, a Thanksgiving meal can make all the difference," said Christine C. Quinn, president and CEO of Win. "We are forever grateful to FeedingNYC for ensuring that thousands of Win families can still come together and enjoy a hot meal this Thanksgiving, despite the difficult circumstances we're all facing."

FeedingNYC's partners, including Manhattan Mini Storage, Roadway Moving, and Pier Sixty, generously contribute their services to assist with this community effort.

"We're so pleased to have partnered for well over a decade with FeedingNYC," said Adam Steckler, president of Manhattan Mini Storage, which is part of the Edison Properties family. "While we have always provided the boxes used to pack the Thanksgiving meals, this year we're also promoting the critical work of the organization to our storage customers and encouraging them to sponsor Thanksgiving dinner kits, and in return, we're pleased to also match their donations. We're grateful for the work FeedingNYC does for the community, and this year it's even more crucial that some of the city's neediest receive this assistance."

"We're proud to spend our days moving families into new homes," said Ross Sapir, founder of Roadway Moving. "But we know that thousands of families in New York don't have a place to call home, including tens of thousands of children. We are honored to once again join forces with FeedingNYC to bring Thanksgiving dinners to families in shelters throughout the city. It's the most important work our people and our trucks will do during this incredibly challenging year."

FeedingNYC is now accepting donations to feed families for Thanksgiving 2020. A donation of just $35 can provide an entire Thanksgiving dinner. To support a family in need this year, make a donation by check, credit card, ACH, or PayPal or create a fundraising campaign today.

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 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 grown to deliver meals to more than 80,000 families to date throughout the five boroughs. Please visit www.feedingnyc.org to learn how to get involved.

About LivePerson, Inc.
LivePerson makes life easier for people and brands everywhere through trusted conversational AI. Our 18,000 customers, including leading brands like HSBC, Orange, GM Financial, and The Home Depot, use our conversational solutions to orchestrate humans and AI, at scale, and create a convenient, deeply personal relationship — a conversational relationship — with their millions of consumers. LivePerson was named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies list in 2020. For more information about LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), please visit www.liveperson.com.

About Win: 
Since 1983, Win has been transforming the lives of women and children experiencing homelessness in New York City by providing the housing, programs and services they need to succeed — so families can regain their independence and their children can look forward to a brighter future. With 12 shelters serving 3,800 people every night, including about 2,300 children, Win focuses on solutions for the many causes of homelessness by helping women improve their job skills, life skills, health and more. Win's children's services include childcare, after school programs and Camp Win, a summer day camp program. Win also provides permanent supportive housing offering dedicated, long-term support to mothers with additional needs.

CONTACT:
Mike Tague
mtague@liveperson.com

SOURCE FeedingNYC