On Tuesday evening, January 28, Chaverim of Queens held their Members Appreciation Dinner, celebrating 12 years of service to the Queens community. The event, which took place in Fresh Meadows at Beit Eliyahu, was a true success, as Chaverim volunteers were appreciated over dinner and with words of encouragement and inspiration from community leaders.
Chaverim of Queens was founded in memory of Mr. Jack Friedman, whose name was synonymous with tz’dakah and chesed and whose name lives on with the work that Chaverim does. The Friedman, Fried, and Mermelstein families were thanked at the dinner and were honored with the Founders Award in recognition of their ongoing support since day one.
Chaverim is a 100 percent volunteer organization that started in January 2008 with just ten volunteers. Chaverim now has over 100 volunteers who respond to a few thousand calls per year.
The dinner was held to show appreciation for the volunteers who go above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis to assist the Queens community.
The Distinguished Leadership Award was presented to newly elected Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz for her ongoing support and friendship to the organization.
The Community Service Award was given to Rabbi Daniel Pollack, Special Assistant to Congresswoman Grace Meng, for his help and assistance since day one. The Hakaras HaTov Award was given to Chaim Steigman for his dedication and commitment to Chaverim and for being there for the Queens community in so many ways, as he goes beyond the call of duty to help others.
Aaron Cyperstein, Esq., President of Chaverim of Queens, acknowledged the participation of Councilmen Barry Grodenchik and Donovan Richards. Rabbi Aryeh Sokoloff gave a few but powerful words of inspiration to fuel the crowd as he always does. NYPD representatives in attendance included new Chief of Queens Ruben Beltran (CO of PBQS), Scott Henry (CO of the 107th Pct.), and Captain Kiblin (XO of 102nd Pct.), as well as Sgt. James Clarke, Police Officers Edwin Martinez and Peter Carpozzi from Community Affairs. Detective Damico and Lt. Malespin from Queens Borough South were also in attendance.
They were thanked for their assistance to the organization. All stated that it was really uplifting to see young volunteerism.
The volunteers enjoyed a sumptuous buffet dinner at Beit Eliyahu, thanks to the following generous sponsors: Jacob Babadzhanov for coordination and Robert Aronov from Bet Eliyahu. Thanks to Coordinators Eli Kreindler, Moshe Vatch, and Aryeh Edell for making sure no detail was overlooked.
Chaverim is actively recruiting male and female dispatchers, as well as day and night-time volunteers. This is a great opportunity to be involved in wonderful acts of chesed for your community. Anyone interested is asked to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
COQ is a not-for-profit organization that accepts your generous tax-deductible donations online at www.chaverimofqueens.org.
