Islanders Team Up with Stop & Shop for Annual Turkey Express Event

With just over two weeks remaining until the doors officially open to the New York Islanders' new home at UBS Arena, the feel-good festivities have already begun.
The Islanders supported their official partner Stop & Shop by hosting the annual Turkey Express event outside of UBS Arena, where 2,000 turkeys were donated to local food banks; Island Harvest and Long Island Cares. The turkeys will go to families in need as the holiday season and cold weather quickly approaches.

The event featured members from Stop & Shop, Island Harvest, Long Island Cares, and an Islanders ensemble of alumni; Clark Gillies, Eric Cairns and Steve Webb, mascot Sparky the Dragon and the Islanders' adorable Puppy with a Purpose Monte. With the Islanders' brand-new home, UBS Arena, as the backdrop, the group helped unload and hand-pass the turkeys down from person-to-person - or dragon-to-puppy - in an assembly line and into the respective food bank trucks where they will be available to local families.

"Stop & Shop is grateful for partners like the Islanders who support us both on and off the ice," Stefanie Shuman, the Public Relations and Community Relations Manager for Stop and Shop stores in New York and New Jersey, said. "We appreciated their assist today, offloading our 2,000 donated turkeys that will benefit Long Islanders served by Island Harvest and Long Island Cares."
"Stop & Shop is now the official supermarket of the NY Islanders," Shuman continued. "A partnership rooted in giving back. The next three years will be full of wins, both on the ice and in our communities."
Stop & Shop has been running its Turkey Express donation program for decades. The program brings tens of thousands of turkeys to those in need across the supermarket chain's five states. Thursday marked the first time the Islanders joined Stop & Shop in their annual event, which also brought together Long Island Cares and Island Harvest, Long Island's two leading Food Banks.

PHOTOS: Islanders Annual Turkey Express Event
"This year, we're really excited because Stop & Shop is the official partner of the New York Islanders," Randi Shubin Dresner, President and CEO Island Harvest Food Bank, said. "We spent today at UBS Arena with a number of Islanders alumni, collecting turkeys, and getting them into our trucks so we can get them out and into our community.
"Last year during the pandemic, we helped over 600,000 families who were struggling with food and security," Shubin Dresner said. "These are very tough times. To get corporate partners like this to help us out and to further our mission, it's a goal. We're excited about it. We're looking forward to taking on this holiday season together."
Stay tuned for more future events, both in the local community and in-game at UBS Arena, that will take place from the Islanders, Stop & Shop, Long Island Harvest and Long Island Cares.
Visit
https://www.nhl.com/islanders/community/community-relations
for more information and updates on what's to come.