Created by the state Office of Children and Family Services in 2006, the state Kinship Caregiver Program was meant to provide vital funding and services to grandparents and other familial caregivers who find themselves tasked with raising young children. It is supposed to help children stay in loving environments by maintaining a sense of stability and the familiar and preventing them from entering foster care. Comment.

The work on nonprofit City Harvest’s new 45,400-square-foot facility in Long Island City is not yet complete, but the organization is already sending out an average of 83,000 pounds of food a week to places that help the five boroughs’ hungry. Comment.

A Flushing church is getting a little help from some of its neighbors to the northeast when it comes to feeding the city’s less fortunate. Comment.

For 28 years LP and Co. Hair Design, on Union Turnpike west of 188th Street, has been working with special schools, the Queens Occupational Center and United Cerebral Palsy to perform beauty activities for their clients, who otherwise might never go to a professional beauty parlor. Comments (1).

Hundreds of good little Astoria Houses children received toys from Santa Claus last Thursday in an early Christmas celebration that almost did not happen. Comment.

Gene Brennan, a retired NYPD detective with 20 years on the force, former member of Community Board 7 and longtime community activist, died Monday afternoon at the age of 70, his family said. Comments (4).

The Knights of Pythias threw a holiday party for children at St. Mary’s Healthcare System. Comment.

State Assemblyman William Scarborough, honorary chairman of the Million Fathers Club, has been hosting an annual Christmas party and toy give-away to make every Christmas a merry one for hundreds of foster care and shelter children. Comment.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) called upon the Woodside community Monday to donate food, necessities and toys for the tenants displaced by a 61st Street house fire that killed one person and injured four others. Comment.

A St. Albans nonprofit started raising funds for a proposed restaurant and fresh food market last week that it hopes will be a cornerstone in the revitalization of Farmers Boulevard. Comment.

More than two weeks after a pre-Thanksgiving power surge toasted household electrical appliances and computer systems, many Douglaston-area residents still have a bad taste in their mouths. Comment.

The sudden and tragic death of Queens Civic Congress President Patricia Dolan has left the civic community shocked and grief-stricken. Comment.

Patricia Dolan, president of the Queens Civic Congress and the Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association, died on Hillside Avenue after a car struck her as she walked to a Community Board 8 Transportation Committee meeting. Comment.

On behalf of the city Parks Department family, we were saddened to hear of the untimely death of our friend, Pat Dolan. Comment.

Former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman called late civic leader Pat Dolan “the quintessential Queens civic worker” during a memorial service for Dolan last week in Forest Hills. Comment.

State Assemblyman Mike Miller will be sponsoring a holiday food drive in conjunction with the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council. Food collected will benefit the Sacred Heart Food Pantry in Glendale. The drive will carry on until Dec. 15. Comment.

With the memory of Thanksgiving dinner surrounded by friends and family still fresh in our minds, it is appropriate for the overstuffed to give some thought to the people of southeast Queens, who spent their holiday preparing and serving holiday meals to the borough’s neediest. Comment.

A pair of Whitestone civic groups each installed a neighborhood sign this month following unrelated but similar campaigns to boost community spirit. Comments (17).

Did you all have a happy Thanksgiving? We certainly hope so. Were any of you after a full, satisfying turkey dinner possessed with enough adrenaline to tackle the Black Friday shopping extravaganza? Comment.

The Queens Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces has announced it will dedicate the eighth annual 2011 Emerald Awards to the late Patricia Dolan in recognition of her work to make the borough a better place to live, work and play. Comments (2).

More than 100 people and elected officials past and present turned out at the Lexington School for the Deaf in Jackson Heights last Thursday to honor the North Queens Homeowners Association for its 70th anniversary. Comment.

Finally, some relief. Comments (1).

We routinely report on the activities of countless community leaders. Along the way, we have been impressed by the dedication of many we have met, but none more so than Pat Dolan, who died last week. Comment.

We routinely report on the activities of countless community leaders. Along the way, we have been impressed by the dedication of many we have met, but none more so than Pat Dolan, who died last week. Comment.

The Whitestone Memorial Day Parade has been a neighborhood tradition for as long as many residents can remember, but few realize how close it comes to extinction during tough economic times. Comment.

Afrikan Poetry Theatre Feast for the Homeless — Help serve families, bring food donations and enjoy a delicious meal. Comment.

Family and community activists remembered Susan Noreika as a tireless supporter of her community with a feisty side during her wake last Thursday in Bayside. Comment.

Kwanghee Kim, founder of the Flushing-based nonprofit the Korean American Family Service Center, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award last week by the New York Women’s Foundation. But while she is dedicated to her work, she was not so happy with the name of the award. Comments (1).

A Whitestone civic leader who owns a party place on Clintonville Street rewarded a U.S. Marine veteran who thwarted a rape near the Cross Island Parkway in August by hosting his daughter’s second birthday celebration for free. Comments (5).

A street renaming in honor of a Corona man who died in the Sept. 11 attacks somehow got lost in the shuffle, but family members and the community took solace Sunday that the commemoration occurred the same year of the 10th anniversary of the tragedy. Comment.

Susan Noreika, a charter member of Community Board 13 who served as its chairwoman for three decades, died Oct. 4. She was 90. Comment.

Borough President Helen Marshall addressed her Queens Youth Board and other youth Friday at York College in Jamaica during a day devoted to job skills and sexual health. Comment.

Hidden deep in the corner of 216th Street and 42nd Avenue is a piece of land that is a major part of Bayside’s history, and last weekend a group of volunteers helped to make sure it did not turn into an eyesore. Comment.

Vinnie Alberici is an unlikely inspector of fire hydrants in and around Community Board 5, but he has found that a significant number are in poor condition or not working at all. Comment.

Win grant money to show love for your block Comment.

Artists often sign the corners of their masterpieces, but the city signed Ann Buehler’s for her Saturday, putting the name of the feisty former head of an Astoria Boys & Girls club at the corner of 30th Road and 21st Street. Comment.

Community Board 12 gave a warm welcome to its district manager last week during its monthly meeting as she proudly stepped back into her position after spending five months recuperating from a serious auto accident. Comment.

A Forest Hills-based nonprofit will once again handle the Meals on Wheels program for a portion of the borough, much to the delight of the community and a Queens lawmaker. Comment.