Citrin Cooperman volunteers serve lunch to nearly 400 guests in Eva’s Community Kitchen.
“We can see the imprint Eva’s makes on the community, and still, we are continually inspired by the commitment of the staff and volunteers," Wilfredo Fernandez, partner at Citrin Cooperman.
Paterson, NJ (PRWEB) July 20, 2017
Volunteers from Citrin Cooperman’s Livingston, N.J., office recently completed a fifth annual Day of Service at Eva's Village through Eva’s Fund-A-Meal program. The program is a sponsorship and team-building opportunity for corporate and community groups where participants receive an overview of Eva’s 20 programs and tour its four-block campus before tackling a hands-on service project.
After a tour in June, Citrin Cooperman volunteers split into two teams—one group donned hairnets, gloves and aprons to serve lunch to nearly 400 guests in Eva’s Community Kitchen, while the other mobilized to assemble hundreds of PB & J sandwiches for distribution to kitchen guests. In addition to hands-on help, Citrin Cooperman’s $6,000 Gold-level donation directly underwrites the cost of two full days of meals served to clients in Eva’s residential shelters and treatment programs and to kitchen guests. Eva’s Community Kitchen prepares 1,300 meals daily, which add up to nearly half a million meals served each year.
“We have been coming to volunteer at Eva’s Village for several years now, as a firm and as individuals,” said Wilfredo Fernandez, partner at Citrin Cooperman. “We can see the imprint Eva’s makes on the community, and still, we are continually inspired by the commitment of the staff and volunteers, and how much daily care and effort they put into this tremendously important cause,” he continued. “These folks literally save lives,” he added. “We are just humbled that we can contribute a small part.”
“Volunteer participation and funding support are vital to the success of our programs,” noted Heather Thompson, Eva’s Development Director. “Each year more than 3,500 volunteers dedicate over 30,000 hours in our Community Kitchen, Recovery Community Center, Medical and Dental Clinics and other programs,” she explained. Several programs including Eva’s Community Kitchen, the free Medical and Dental Clinics, and the Childcare and Education Program for the children living in Eva’s facilities are funded entirely by private donations.
More about Citrin Cooperman
Citrin Cooperman is a nationally-recognized, full-service accounting, tax, and consulting firm with offices located throughout the Northeast. The company has a well-established tradition of philanthropy through funding support to local charities, a scholarship program and employee who volunteer to give back and contribute to fundraisers. Their annual report notes, “Giving back is at the core of our philosophy as professionals, people and as a firm.” In 2016, the company donated the equivalent of approximately $2,000,000 worth of pro bono hours nationwide in addition to an estimated $250,000 to benefit nearly two dozen programs.
More about Eva’s Village
Founded by Msgr. Vincent E. Puma in 1982, Eva’s Kitchen began by serving 30 meals a day to feed the hungry in Paterson. In response to the related issues of poverty, addiction, mental illness and homelessness, programs and services grew out of the original soup kitchen to address the root causes as well as the effects of hunger and poverty. Today, Eva’s Village, a non-profit, comprehensive, social service organization, offers 20 programs that address needs in the community for food and shelter, recovery and medical services, and education and job training, with the goal to help those in need move toward stability and independence.
