Paule Pachter Given TOH "Make A Difference" Award

Editor's Note: This article was written by Hempstead Town officials.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and the town board recognized 10 extraordinary community members, including one from North Bellmore, for contributions to their local neighborhoods at the 16th Annual Make A Difference Awards ceremony.

“We are here this evening to honor the unsung heroes who strive to improve the community and help their fellow citizens,” Murray said. “You will not find these people in the tabloids or on television. In fact, these honorees could be one of your neighbors, co-workers, or even the owners of your favorite pizza parlor.”

Many of the same people who have donated to charities such as Long Island Cares became recipients of this organization’s generosity in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The man who stepped up in Long Island’s ‘hour of need,’ providing assistance to the swelling ranks of people in need of food, clothing and cleaning supplies was Paule Pachter of North Bellmore.

The executive director of Long Island Cares, Pachter has been a fixture in the social work community for more than 40 years. Under Pachter’s leadership, Long Island Cares provides emergency food where and when it is needed, sponsors programs that help families achieve self-sufficiency, and educates the general public about the causes and consequences of hunger on Long Island.

During his tenure, the Long Island Cares-Harry Chapin Food Bank has initiated 16 service programs, including mobile units that visit 65 homes monthly and service 400 homeless Long Islanders. The organization also now feeds approximately 12,000 Hurricane Sandy victims each month.

In addition to food, Long Island Cares has also been going from community to community distributing cleaning supplies, baby-care items, housewares and more for local families who lost everything in this devastating local disaster. In Hempstead Town, we have seen the results of Pachter’s efforts firsthand, as he has brought the LI Cares crew and supplies to many town parks in impacted areas over the last six months and worked with the Town to distribute frozen turkeys that were donated just before Thanksgiving. The landscape of need has changed on Long Island continuously over Pachter’s career, but never more so than it did on October 29, 2012.

“Our award recipients make our lives better every day and stepped up when people needed help most in the wake of Sandy,” Murray added. “There are times when good deeds go unnoticed. But, whether it’s an ordinary day or a period of extreme need, the time is almost always right for a good deed.”