Since 2002, Moriches Community Center has provided holiday assistance to local needy families. Last Thanksgiving, students at Clayton Huey Elementary School and Red Robin preschool helped gather nonperishable foods for distribution by adult volunteers to 13 families whose names were provided by school social workers.

During Christmas 2009, we received numerous toy and food donations and raised nearly $12,000 through fundraisers organized by Peer Leadership's "Santa's Workshop", generous contributions by local businesses, families and organizations such as the Knapp Swezey Foundation, Rico Memorial Fund, Brookhaven Interface Toy Drive and others who adopted and shopped for a child or family. These combined gifts assisted our agency in providing toys, food, trees and other necessities to 27 families in need as well as food to local pantries this holiday season.

Additionally, in 2009 we were granted $3000 by the Disney Community VoluntEARS Fund which enabled us to offer emergency assistance at other times of the year in the way of food and clothing store gift cards, utilities assistance and public transportation passes.