Aid convoy at Mitchel Field for LI's needy

In the tent where sneakers were being given away, Sandra Andrews relaxed as Danes McCarter, a Convoy of Hope volunteer and a member of Bethlehem Assembly of God church in Valley Stream, washed, dried and applied lotion to Andrews' feet.

Then, McCarter joined hands with Andrews and prayed.

"That made me feel real good," said Andrews, 39, of Roosevelt. "When you least expect it, God blesses you."

The foot-washing was evocative of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, and McCarter said she and other volunteers were "motivated by the love of God. We want to show the community a heart of service."

McCarter was among about 2,100 volunteers from Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey who helped the national Convoy of Hope distribute about $1 million in goods and services to Long Islanders on Saturday at Mitchel Field Athletic Complex in Uniondale, organizers said.

It's the faith-based group's first effort on Long Island, and more than 5,100 people came out, said Gabrielle Rizzuto, the convoy's local coordinator and executive assistant to the senior pastor at Bethlehem Assembly of God.

The foot-washing was a way to show people "dignity, honor and respect," said Ron Showers, Convoy of Hope's director of global outreach. The group, founded in 1994 and based in Springfield, Mo., is on a 50-state, $50 million "tour of hope and help" for the impoverished.

While Long Island's poverty rate is 6.1 percent, well below the 15.1 percent national rate, there are pockets of poverty here, Jeff Nene, Convoy of Hope's national spokesman, said in a phone interview. Census data estimated Hempstead Village's 2010 poverty rate at 14.8 percent.

"Those people are neglected because Long Island is seen as an affluent place," Rizzuto said. She said the distribution targeted Hempstead, Roosevelt and Uniondale residents. Organizers plan to go to Suffolk County next year.

Convoy of Hope partnered with 40 churches in the region, as well as businesses and community groups, to provide nonperishable groceries, footwear, a community service and job fair, as well as fun and games for families, and free haircuts and family photo portraits.