AFG Helps Feed the Hungry During the Pandemic 

As the Coronavirus Pandemic continues to increase the demand for food, services and other resources in the Capital District, Albany Financial Group, for the second year in a row, took the opportunity to give back to the community with two generous donations to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY and to LifePath, formerly known as Senior Service of Albany.

The advisors and staff at Albany Financial Group consider themselves blessed, always and especially now, and are grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community, said AFG Principal Leonard Valletta. 

The Regional Food Bank

The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is actively responding to emergency food needs resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. The situation changes daily, and every day food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, state and local governments, and other organizations reach out for support and guidance. Children out of school, people out of work, and seniors unable to travel to grocery stores are causing a dramatic increase in the need for food assistance.

The Regional Food Bank partners with 1,000 not-for-profit agencies in 23 counties of eastern New York.  Since the middle of March 2020 some of the increased services that the Regional Food Bank has provided are as follows:

• Provided 38% more food to 235 school Back Pack programs.
• Provided 88,000 meals to seniors living in senior housing.
• Provided 706,800 meals to meet the needs of people who are quarantined, recently unemployed or in need of food assistance for the first time.
• Provided 6.3 million pounds of food through the food banks partner agencies to serve the growing number of people seeking assistance. 
• Provided 28,000 pounds of food for restaurant/hospitality workers who have been especially hard hit from the pandemic.

Life Path

In addition to the Food Bank, AFG also made a contribution to LifePath.  They provide services to people 60 and older in the Albany Region.  Due to the pandemic, the two services they continue to render are Meals on Wheels and making weekly reassurance and well-being calls.  In 2020, LifePath:

• prepared more than 350,000 meals,
• made more than 11,000 reassurance calls and
• provided one-on-one counseling and guidance to more than 1,600 seniors when choosing health insurance options..

“We thank Albany Financial for their generous support! Your donation will assist us with providing food to several families and individuals in need,” said Colleen Bryar, Director of Agency Services for the Regional Food Bank. “Thank you again for your support and for assisting us in our efforts to combat hunger.”

“Thank you for thinking of us in this time of need,” said Maria Jones, Director of Marketing for Life Path. “Thank you so very much for selecting LifePath for such a generous donation.”

AFG Goes Red for Heart Health

AFG participated in the American Heart Association’s National Wear Red Day, the first Friday in February, to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke. Heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women, killing more Americans than all cancers combined.

2019 Holiday Giving 

It’s a highlight of the holiday season at Albany Financial Group: Giving back to the community.  

Each year, with a generous donation from Albany Financial Group, the administrative staff at AFG shops for toys, books, games and puzzles for underprivileged children in the Capital District. The group then donates those toys to the City Mission of Schenectady to fill the shelves of their holiday stores.

With an emphasis on helping “the working poor,” the City Mission this year will open five holiday shops, allowing qualifying families to shop, free of charge, for their children, ages birth to 10.

AFG coordinates this mission each year with City Mission Director Michael Saccocio and Senior Development Coordinator Jessica Toomajian. AFG also partners with the Colonie Target store, which generously discounts our purchases by 10%, allowing AFG to provide for more children.  Last year, the City Mission served more than 900 children during the holidays and expects to see a comparable number over the next few weeks.

This year, Frozen-themed merchandise was popular, as well as classic toys such as Legos, sporting equipment, sleds, dolls and remote-controlled cars. Gift cards for Regal and Target were also provided for families with older children. AFG shoppers divided into teams, with each team shopping for a specific age-group. In the end, they checked-out 9 carts overflowing with a variety of gift options to satisfy the wish list of any child.