St. John's Bread and Life Honors Four at Eighth Annual Johnny's Angel Awards Dinner

November 14, 2005

Queens, NY – St. Francis College President Frank Macchiarola, Donald and Eleanor Taffner of DLT Entertainment Limited and John J. Hogan, Jr., treasurer of the National Funeral Directors Association and manager of the Fogarty Funeral Home in Flushing, were honored at the Eighth Annual Johnny’s Angel Awards Dinner for St. John’s Bread and Life Program, Inc. on Wednesday, November 9 at St. John’s University.

 “Our four honorees this year have been generous benefactors and supporters of our program who have demonstrated a great commitment to those in need,” said Father James J. Maher, C.M., Chairman of the Board of St. John’s Bread and Life and Vice President of Student Life at St. John’s University.  “They are four of the most distinguished and influential people in New York City with regard to hunger, poverty, education and human services.”

 In addition, Timothy Hilton was presented with the coveted Sr. Bernadette Award for his exemplary work at the St. John’s Bread & Life Soup Kitchen in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, NY. Hilton has worked in the soup kitchen, cooking, cleaning up and doing odd jobs for the past 15 years.  He is the longest tenured employee currently working at St. John’s Bread & Life.

 Mary Tobin of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University served as dinner chairperson and WLNY TV55 sports director C.J. Papa served as the evening’s master of ceremonies. A crowd of 205 attended the dinner and festivities held at the University Center on the Queens Campus.

The Johnny’s Angel Awards are presented to those who have helped St. John’s Bread and Life fight hunger and provide a wide range of services to those in need. St. John’s Bread and Life Program, Inc., which is among the largest providers of emergency food and support services in New York City located in the Bedford Stuyvesant community. The organization’s goal is to combat poverty and help people achieve self-sufficiency.  It is also dedicated to educating the public and increasing awareness of hunger, poverty and homelessness.

At the heart of St. John’s Bread and Life’s programs is a soup kitchen serving breakfast and lunch to an average of 1,000 people each weekday.  St. John’s Bread and Life also operates a mobile soup kitchen, which currently travels to different neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens to serve those in need.  In addition to emergency food services, St. John’s Bread and Life has a food pantry and an array of support services.

For more information, please contact St. John’s Bread and Life at (718) 574-0058, ext. 25.  To learn more about St. John’s Bread and Life you can visit its web site at www.breadandlife.org.