The volunteers from Hudson Peak Wealth Advisors in Pleasantville put on their aprons and took up their ladles at the Open Arms’ soup kitchen earlier this month.
The “Day of Service” was organized by financial advisers Eric Nachman and Darrel Upson.
For more than 25 years, the shelter on East Post Road has offered food and a place to sleep and clean up to thousands of men who have nowhere else to go.
The event was part of the semi-annual national days of service arranged by Ameriprise Financial in partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
The Pleasantville team worked with Lifting Up Westchester, the nonprofit umbrella group that operates the shelter.
The local effort aimed to focus attention on the needs of 48 million Americans, including 15 million children and 7 million seniors, who go hungry every day, Hudson Peak said.
In Westchester alone, it said, one in five families need food assistance.
Hudson Peak, which is part of Ameriprise, closes its office for an afternoon in June and November so employees can participate in charitable and community service events, Upson said.
The volunteers who gave of their time, received something more precious in return, Upson said.
“Serving dinner at Open Arms was a tremendous experience for all of us,” he said.
Paul Anderson-Winchell, executive director of Lifting Up Westchester, said the organization really appreciated the help.
“When local companies get involved in community service, they are not only helping others in need in our community but they’re hopefully receiving a sense of personal fulfillment and demonstrating to the public, a strong sense of community service,” he said.
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