A large crowd, one of the largest we’ve seen, was waiting for us last night when we arrived on 33rd Street in Manhattan for our monthly Soup Run. We served 115 chicken and rice dinners and 75 sandwiches. As we opened our car doors, several guests immediately helped us set up tables and unload bins of food, clothing and bottles of water. Another guest, earlier in the evening, let the nearby security guards know that we were on our way to serve those who were lining up.
Our Soup Run is an experience of mutual compassion. We serve our guests in a friendly, caring manner and they do the same. Keith, one of our guests, reached into a bag we had given him and shared food and clothing with another guest who arrived late after we had run out of everything. One of our volunteers gave the rain jacket she was wearing to a man who was cold. When we gave socks to a woman, she remarked that Bombas socks are so comfortable, she can walk all day in them.
We found more hungry souls as we walked through Penn Station, to a nearby drop-in center, up and down the steps of the old post office and in front of St. Francis. We gave them the last of our food and sandwiches. As we stood on the steps of the post office, others saw that we were giving away food and ran up to us asking if we had meals for them. It is not hard to find someone who needs nourishment for their body and an expression of love for their heart. We heard so many “thank you” and “God bless you” comments.
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 our supporters from across Westchester County, Queens and New York City:
- Jim & Pat Mikelis for their sponsorship
- Greg Pappas of The Pappas Post (https://www.pappaspost.com) for interviewing us and our guests for an upcoming story
- Alexis Livanos for socks
- Trish Lilley for 36 backpacks (with snacks!)
- Carol Greenwald for 26 airline business class travel kits
- Alexandra & Richard Baudouin for a dozen new flannel shirts
- Louiza Kinas for clothing
- Kathryn Papataros for sandwiches
- Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for preparing sandwiches and Basil Apostle for packing
- Minos Samoladas for his generous donation which enables us to purchase clothing every month
- Melina Morris and Bombas (https://bombas.com/) for socks and T-shirts
- Kathleen Haverlack Wasser for tote bags & toiletry kits and the American Lung Association https://www.lung.
org/ for 350 T-shirts - 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 toiletry kits
Remember those who are hungry and homeless and know that every act of kindness you offer is so meaningful to those in need. We look forward to you joining us next month on October 24, 2019 (not October 31).