Five Towns Community Center receives donated protective partition

The daily hustle and bustle of the Five Towns Community Center being a go-to place for food and other items for residents attracted the attention of Brooklyn-based Avant Guard Manufacturing that was at the Lawrence facility on May 5.

Now handling more than 250 packages per week compared to the usual pre-Covid-19 number of 25, the Community Center had a protective partition installed for free on May 12 by Avant Guard to protect both staff and community members.  

“I was seeking quotes and Avant Guard was there that day measuring for something else and saw the food giveaway and Long Island Cares was here,” said K. Brent Hill, the center’s executive director. “Avant called me later in the day.”

A partition was installed at the center’s reception area. It provides that barrier needed to adhere to the mandated social distancing rule of six feet. “It’s an effort to keep our staff and community safer,” Hill said.

Food distribution three times a week as a Long Island Cares site begins at the Five Towns Community Center on Monday, May 18, and is by appointment only. For more information, go to licares.org or call (631) 582-3663.

“We will continue to have our other food donations,” Hill said, “this is an extension of what we are already doing.”