Coppola Foundation food drive a success

The Claudio Cares Foundation of Hyde Park collected more than 34,000 pounds of non-perishable food items for five local food pantries in its second annual food drive last month.

The date was Tues., Dec. 17, what would have been the 18th birthday of Claudio Coppola, the son of Luigi and Lisa Coppola of Hyde Park, who died in a car accident on Nov. 9, 2012.

According to a news release from the foundation, volunteers from around the Hudson Valley helped collect, organize and distribute a tractor-trailer full of supplies to help those less fortunate.

“People want to give. We just gave them an avenue for helping others” says Luigi Coppola, the foundation co-founder.

Utilizing Facebook, the Coppola Family organized a large group of people, schools, and businesses for the collection.

“We began this in order to honor our son who was a selfless person. We wanted to continue the good work that he started,” said co-founder Lisa Coppola. She added, “We would like to thank everyone in and around Hyde Park and throughout the Hudson Valley who helped us collect such a tremendous amount of food.”

The food banks that were serviced include the Reach Out Church Food Pantry, the Regina Coeli Church Food Pantry, the Holy Trinity Church Food Pantry, the Youth Mission Outreach Food Pantry and the VA Hospital Food Pantry.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Claudio Cares Foundation can mail it to Claudio Cares Foundation, 33 Mansion Drive, Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538.

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