FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 28, 2006
Contact: PAUL PERILLIE, MAJORITY CAUCUS AIDE -- #(631) 854-4500

Can You Give A Can?
Legislator Cooper Sponsors Food Drive for People and Pets

Donning bright blue shirts emblazoned with the logo “Cooper’s Troopers”, teams of volunteers from the office of Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) fanned out to local supermarkets on August 23rd and 24th passing out flyers promoting Cooper's "Can You Give A Can?" campaign.

The goal was to urge shoppers to add to their grocery lists canned food items for people and pets in need. The two-day food drive benefited the Community Food Council of Huntington, a not-for-profit food pantry located in Huntington Station, as well as the Little Shelter Animal Rescue & Adoption Center, a no-kill shelter in Huntington dedicated to saving all companion animals whose lives are in jeopardy.

The idea for the food drive came from Legislator Cooper's Chief of Staff, Lora Gellerstein, who oversees his very popular summer internship program for local high school and college students. During a conversation about doing some early Christmas shopping, Gellerstein recalled that while many food banks are overflowing with donations during the holidays, the summer can be a lean and difficult time for aid organizations.

"We want these kids to look back on their internships as a meaningful experience," says Gellerstein. "They'll remember these two days more than all the ones they spent tracking legislation and doing office work."

The interns seem to agree.

"While learning about policy is a great intellectual challenge, this is work from the heart. I'll never forget it," says Jessica Coyle of Centerport, one of Coopers Troopers who is entering her junior year at NYU.

Over the course of the two-day drive, Cooper's Troopers collected almost 15 shopping carts full of food items from generous shoppers at the Waldbaums and King Kullen supermarkets in Huntington Village and the Stop-n-Shop and King Kullen in Northport.

"I'm grateful for Legislator Cooper and the volunteers who helped collect food for the shelter," says Arleen Leone, Manager of the Little Shelter. "Because of their efforts, a lot fewer dogs and cats will go hungry."

The food drive was so successful that Cooper is planning to extend his internship program into the fall and adding more similar events for his next crop of "Troopers".

"While I love for my interns to learn about the nuances of public policy and the procedures for making laws, the real thing I want to teach them is that a career in public service should be about effecting positive social change," says Cooper. "I can't imagine a better way to accomplish that goal than this."