Sea Cliff residents aid restaurants, hospital through fundraiser

Sea Cliff residents Courtney Citko and Allison Moss created North Shore Cares in March, when they started collecting donations to purchase food from local restaurants and deliver them to workers at Glen Cove Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Port Washington.

However, it is not only hospital workers that are being helped by North Shore Cares. Moss and Citko help as many essential workers as possible. Citko said they have also delivered food to the Med Station walk-in care office in Locust Valley, Glenwood EMS and the Sea Cliff, Glen Head and Glenwood Landing post offices.

“Those other places are such small locations that it doesn’t make much in donations to make a big impact there,” Citko said.

On April 20, they also put on a special breakfast for workers at the Sea Cliff Department of Public Works. John Giordano, a foreman at the DPW, said the essential workers at the DPW are often overlooked even during normal times, as they can be underappreciated due to the stigma that comes along with dirtier jobs. This has been even more so the case during the Covid-19 crisis when workers are risking their health while taking care of the community.

Giordano said it is only two or three times a year that the DPW is given recognition by community organizations and residents. The help they got from North Shore Cares was greatly appreciated.

“When North Shore Cares came in with that breakfast,” he said, “the guys were floored, bowled over [and] couldn’t believe it.”

As important as it is to help the area’s essential workers, Citko said North Shore Cares concentrates just as much on keeping North Shore restaurants in business. So far, she said, they have taken meals from 15 local restaurants to their various destinations.

“I really want to see our local business and our local restaurants stay open,” Citko said. “If we’re able to funnel business their way, then this helps out people who are our friends. We have such a small community up here to start with and I’d hate to see people losing their business because of all the shutdowns right now.”

If North Shore Cares is able to help businesses by helping workers, Citko said, then it is an amazing win for everybody.

Moss said she also hopes that she is serving as a positive role model for her daughters Jessica, 14, and Jordan, 12. Bringing them along on deliveries, she said she wants them to see firsthand how much of an impact a single person can make.

“I want them to see that one person can contribute,” Moss said, “and even if it’s not a humongous difference, that they can contribute to the positive things in their lives. They’re seeing the positive effects that people can have on one another and that was really important to me too.”

Donations to North Shore Cares can be made at www.venmo.com/NorthShoreCares or paypal.me/CourtneyCitko.