“This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had,” said one of our guests during last night’s soup run. We served 225 sandwiches, thanks to donations and those we prepared, at three locations in New York City. Everywhere we walked we found someone who was hungry and happy to receive our offering.
We arrived at Madison Square Garden and there was nowhere to park because trucks were double-parked on the street for a Jonas Brothers concert. Shifting to an alternate location, our guests followed us, helped us set up and waited while we organized the food and clothing in the dark and with limited light from cell phones. We distributed hundreds of T-shirts, socks, men’s and women’s underwear and the last of the warm weather clothing. Mid-way through the evening, we walked to a drop-in center a couple of blocks away where we distributed sandwiches, water and T-shirts. Passing the old post office, we found many hungry souls who were sleeping on the steps and they gratefully accepted our food. We also distributed sandwiches to several individuals sleeping in front of St. Francis of Assisi Church.
There were so many people we talked with last night who touched our hearts:
- Jonathan told us he has been homeless for many years. During the summer he sleeps on the sidewalk in front of St. Francis. He wakes up at 4:15 a.m. to pick up the trash and clean the sidewalk in front of the church. He sees it as his job and his way of “giving back to the church”. Jonathan has never been hurt at his spot and said it’s safer sleeping there than in a homeless shelter. During the winter, Jonathan sleeps on the R train because it’s the only train that runs entirely underground.
- At the drop-in center, we talked with Zafir. He shook each of our hands and thanked us for the sandwiches we provided and the respect we showed. He told us that most people ignore the homeless and look down on them.
- A man from South Korea accepted our food, graciously and gratefully bowing, palms together, while expressing his thanks.
- We gave a T-shirt to a man and a few minutes later, he took off his dirty T-shirt and changed into the new one.
- We approached a man nodding off in a stupor and offered him a sandwich. He turned down a ham sandwich, accepted a turkey sandwich and then apologized to us for not accepting the first item we offered. Even in his state, he was appreciative.
Thank you to the donors, supporters and volunteers of the Soup Run. We could not feed and clothe so many every month without the kindness and generosity of our extended community. This month we express gratitude to supporters from Westchester County, including New Rochelle and Yonkers, Queens and New York City:
- Cleo Canelos for her sponsorship
- Sandwich donations from an anonymous donor and from Kathryn Papataros (Kathy Caffentzis’ sister-in-law)
- Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for preparing sandwiches and Basil Apostle for packing
- Minos Samoladas for his generous donation which enabled us to purchase clothing
- Melina Morris and Bombas (https://bombas.com/) for socks and T-shirts
- Kathleen Haverlack Wasser and the American Lung Association https://www.lung.
org/ for 750 T-shirts - Michele Bonds and Heidrick & Struggles (https://heidrick.com/) for plastic cutlery
- May Vlachos (St. George NYC) for preparing the Mental Health Clinic guide and including the Soup Run dates
- Constance Mavrovitis and Cynthia Herzegovitch for organizing the clothing
- Georgeann Mavrovitis and Loredana Soravito Curtis for preparing the toiletry kits
Remember those who are hungry and homeless and know that every act of kindness you offer is appreciated by those in need. We look forward to you joining us next month on September 26, 2019. For those not able to join us in person, consider the words of Mother Teresa: “If you can’t feed 100 people, then feed just one.”