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Education meets outreach at Gateway
Selene Ferdinand, left, and her friend Kelli-Rose Simpson enjoyed a fun-filled snow day, capturing memories of the snowfall.
an undergraduate degree in 1999. While education remained central to his interests, he said From aspiring schoolteach- he began to feel drawn to noner to nonprofit leader, Lorenzo profit work after he graduated. “My wife is a teacher — Sistrunk has built a career she’s been teaching since 1998 working at the highest levels of nonprofit organizations, help- — but one of the things I wanted to do was someing f amilies and t h i n g d i f f e re n t , ” children with comSistrunk said. munity-based iniIn 2000 he joined tiatives. AmeriCorps at Drawing on expeBarry University, in riences from his Miami Shores, own childhood, marking the beginSistrunk said he ning of his nonprofunderstands the it career. Later he ch a l l e n g e s m a ny served as executive families face — an director of the Five understanding that Towns Community ultimately led him C e n t e r, i n L aw into nonprofit work. rence, from 2014 to E l m o n t ’s s t r o n g 2018, before the sense of community organization closed and its focus on ASHlEY MoSElEY in 2024. From 2021 children and fami- parent coordinator, to 2023, Sistrunk lies, he said, helped Gateway Youth was executive direchim b e c o m e Outreach tor of Boys Hope grounded as a local Girls Hope, in nonprofit leader. “Teaching is a great profes- Brooklyn, an organization that sion,” Sistrunk said, reflecting serves low-income, first-generaon his early career goals. After tion young men and women, graduating from high school in many of whom live in poverty. South Carolina where he grew The program places students in up, he studied elementary edu- supportive residential environcation at Claflin University, ments and provides meals, eduOrangeburg, where he earned Continued on page 16
By HAIlEY FUlMER
hfulmer@liherald.com
H
Courtesy Savitre Ferdinand
Snow, frigid temps combine for high-impact storm By HAIlEY FUlMER, JEFF BESSEN & ABBEY SAlVEMINI of the Herald
Franklin Square and Elmont residents woke up to a swirling white blanket of snow on Sunday morning. At the onset of the blizzard, residents scrambled to snag a bag or two of ice melt, though many stores across the community were out of stock, a common pattern throughout the region. Many stores, including the Stop & Shop on Franklin Avenue, the Island Fresh Supermarket on Lincoln Boulevard and the Home Depot in Elmont, along with several other
hardware and grocery stores in the area, reported shortages of ice melt. Many residents turned to Facebook groups to ask others for help. Aisha Habib, of California, took to Facebook over the weekend to see if any community members could help her parents, who live in Franklin Square, find a bag or two of ice melt. There were more than 60 comments in the Facebook group “Franklin Square & Garden City South Business Community,” offering to help the couple. Aisha’s mother, Rukshana Habib, said that she ventured out on Thursday, three Continued on page 9
e makes sure his face is seen. He stays connected, and keeps in touch with the community.