Ladies First Astoria's "Festival of Giving"

Ladies First Astoria (LFA), a community network of women supporting women based in Astoria, Queens, will be hosting their first “LFA Festival of Giving” this season, in order to support the homeless population in various boroughs of NYC. 

For three weeks leading up to the distribution day of December 15, the organization will have collection bins in three Astoria locales, and each week will be designated to collect a different category of items. The drop-off locations will be: Astoria Bier & Cheese (both locations on Broadway and on Ditmars Blvd.); and Comfortland on 30th Ave., all in Astoria, Queens. See the full schedule below:

November 26-December 2: Cold Weather Essentials
December 3-9: Toiletries
December 10-14: Food

These efforts will culminate in an LFA Holiday Party on Friday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at The Ditty on Ditmars Blvd., where members and friends will assemble the variety of collected items into bags. On the morning of Saturday, December 15, the group will split up into teams and distribute the bags to those in need on the streets throughout Queens and Manhattan.

“We’re so pleased to be able to utilize this amazing network of women in the best way possible--to help others,” said fellow LFA co-founder and local business owner Renee Heitmann. “It’s especially important for us to not only collect and donate items, but to interact and communicate with those who are struggling.”

A full list of needed items can be seen below. 

Items:
Cold Weather Essentials
*New items, not used; can be handmade; larger sizes are best*
Gloves
Hats
Scarves
Socks
Undershirts/t-shirts
Metrocard with one or two rides 

Toiletries
*Make sure nothing contains alcohol, and everything should be travel sized*
Toothbrushes 
Toothpaste
Tampons/Pads
Soap
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deodorant
Combs
Small hand lotion

Food
*Prepackaged, not homemade*
Granola/Cereal Bars
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Bread
Sturdy Fruit (Apples, Oranges, Clementines  - no bananas, pears, grapes, berries, etc.)
Water bottles
Gift cards in small amounts to McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc.
Misc. ziplock bags

Date: December 01-14, 2018 All Day

Location: The Ditty | 3503 Ditmars Boulevard, Queens, NY 11105

Event website: eventbrite.com