This year’s ninth annual Riis Settlement Fall Family Feast was another great success. The event hosted by Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement and sponsored by our community partner Citibank, offers the members of our community the chance to come together as one big family and celebrate all we have to be thankful for. This year, we served over 841 meals to families, seniors, and youth and delivered over 70 special meals to homebound residents in our community. The four-hour event featured music, a live DJ, crafts and a face painter making it a fun event for the entire family. Also on hand were two photographers who captured all the fun moments throughout the day and presented each guest with a WiFi – framed photograph as a keepsake.
Riis Settlement’s Fall Family Feast is made possible through the generous support of Citibank, the agency’s longtime community partner. Over 100 Citi volunteers along with Riis Settlement staff work to bring a cheerful, holiday spirit and a delicious meal to Queensbridge Houses residents and the Western Queens community at-large. The tradition started because of Citibank’s desire to work with Riis Settlement in support of the local community. “Our Fall Family Feast is one of our most highly-anticipated holiday events here,” said Christopher Hanway, Executive Director of the Settlement House. “Our partnership with Citibank is extremely important to the work we do to serve and celebrate our community. It’s been a great experience working with them every year to give back to those in need.”
Riis Settlement’s Volunteer Coordinators, Jenny Suquilanda and Francis Felipe, both served on the Fall Family Feast committee this year and were impressed with how well the event was run. Ms. Suquilanda remarked, “It was a great pleasure to see such a large group of volunteers come together so effectively.” Ms. Felipe echoed that sentiment, saying, “The Fall Family Feast would not have been a success without the joined efforts, time commitments and dedication of Riis Settlement staff and volunteers.” Robert Madison, Director of Senior Services, expressed his sincere gratitude to all the volunteers who contributed to the event, saying, “We would never be able to organize this event without the help of the countless volunteers, both from Citibank and Riis, who show up every year and work so hard to give our residents a festive day to remember.”
You could tell by the smiles on everyone’s faces that it certainly was a day to remember. We look forward to working with Citibank to host this event for many years to come.
