Project 1-2-6 Kickoff & Community Celebration

Elmezzi Foundation Kicks Off Community Development Initiative with Community Celebration

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(CLICK HERE to see pictures from the event!)

(LONG ISLAND CITY/ASTORIA, June 29, 2009) Over 1,000 community residents and leaders attended the official kick-off to the Thomas & Jeanne Elmezzi Foundation’s community development initiative Project 1-2-6. The Community Celebration was held on Saturday, June 27 in the schoolyard of P.S. 111.

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Over 35 participating non-profits serving Long Island City/Astoria promoted their resources and services and garnered support for their organization through presenting the community with various volunteer opportunities. City Year, the Queens Library, and Hour Children, with the help of individual volunteers, also gained exposure while leading children’s games and activities.

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Community leaders, including Community Board 1 District Manager Lucille Hartmann and NYC Councilman and Public Advocate candidate Eric Gioia dropped by for the festivities. Neighborhood performing arts organizations took the stage, providing live entertainment reflecting some of the different cultures of Long Island City/Astoria. Diversity was also found in the array of food at the free international buffet, featuring food from local businesses and served by restaurant staff and volunteers.

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The Community Celebration was the official launch of Project 1-2-6, a community development initiative that spans Long Island City/Astoria zip codes 11101, 11102, and 11106. Project 1-2-6 is led by the Thomas & Jeanne Elmezzi Foundation, with the support of community residents and leaders. Project 1-2-6 aims to ensure sufficient access to resources and services, to increase opportunities for residents’ civic engagement and leadership development, and to strengthen and connect community groups through a forum that ensures all community stakeholders agree upon priorities for the community’s development. The Foundation will accomplish these goals through community-based participatory research, community engagement, and the investment of technical and financial resources.

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“The Foundation already supports three organizations in Long Island City/Astoria: the Jeanne Elmezzi Adult Learning Center of the Queens Library at Long Island City, the I Have a Dream Foundation at Ravenswood, and Hour Children. The Elmezzi Foundation plans to support more organizations in Long Island City as a tribute to the Foundation’s founder, Thomas Elmezzi, who grew up in Long Island City and worked as a chemist, reformulating Pepsi in the 1930s,” explains Jose Rivero, President and Chairman of the Thomas & Jeanne Elmezzi Foundation.

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Established in 1996, the Thomas & Jeanne Elmezzi Foundation is a private foundation that provides financial and technical support in three program areas: education, youth development, and community development. In February 2008, the Board of Directors of the Elmezzi Foundation decided to focus a majority of its funding to promoting social and economic development in Long Island City/Astoria.

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