In a world with so much need, it can at times be overwhelming. There can be a sense of not knowing where to start. That’s where organizations like Hands and Hearts Across the Oceans step in.
Their mission began in November 2020 with the goal of helping people all over the world by donating clothes, food shoes, books, school supplies and learning material for the betterment of education, locally as well as globally. When Linda Elzer first started her nonprofit organization, she recruited a number of dedicated and caring women who had decided it was time to give back. Although the organization is still young, Elzer is a leader accustomed to running, not walking. In just six months, Hands and Hearts Across the Oceans has worked with numerous homeless shelters
on Long Island and collected barrels of donations for communities in developing nations. Currently, they are developing an educational program for youth on Long Island.
Elzer’s involvement in global welfare began four years ago when she started doing goodwill tours; she eventually chose to create an organization.
“We decided we would like to be united in our efforts to make a difference in people’s lives,” she said.
‘Sock It to Me’
As part of their mission to help the less fortunate, Hands and Hearts Across the Oceans partnered with Teachers Federal Credit Union to collect socks for homeless shelters. Elzer and her team were inspired to develop this project when they learned that a large need for the homeless was help keeping their feet warm and dry.
“Teachers Federal Credit Union is committed to supporting organizations in the community,” said Jennifer Gunn, the community organizer at TFCU. “It was a simple need that made us feel that we had to help.”
TFCU asked employees to bring in a pair of socks. Due to the generosity of TFCU employees across 32 branches, Elzer and her team collected over 300 pairs of new socks for the homeless.
The socks, after being collected, then made the trip to Maureen’s Haven, a homeless shelter in Riverhead. According to Stacy Stanzione, the program manager at Maureen’s Haven, her organization provides food, clothing and comfort, as well as counseling services and guidance for those most in need. The shelter provides relief to around 40 people a day (and 30 people on average in their emergency winter shelter). Given the importance of their shelter for at-risk communities, the help they received from Hands and Hearts Across the Oceans was a necessary contribution that the shelter greatly appreciated.
Although the “Sock It to Me” program came to a close on April 1, Hands and Hearts Across the Oceans is not done giving back. Their next endeavor is the quail project, which, in partnership with Suffolk County Farms, will educate children about health issues while teaching them how to raise bobwhite quails – ground feeders that consume deer ticks— to provide a symbiotic solution to Long Island’s Lyme disease problem.
“It’s an adventure; these children can watch the egg develop,” Elzer said.
The organization has helped in countries around the world as well as communities on Long Island, but their goal destination is Cuba. Elzer has personally visited nine times.
“I do goodwill tours to Cuba. We bring them food, clothing and musical instruments,” she said. “We have created beautiful family bonds.”
She plans to resume her travels once the pandemic is over to bring more supplies to those in need. In the meantime, their new destination is Guyana, an
English-speaking country in South America. They recently collected five barrels of food, clothing, kitchen supplies, school supplies and other necessities to ship to churches and schools in Guyana.
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