Last Night's Soup Run

by Despina Kartson

During last night's soup run, we served 125 complete meals - turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, snacks and juice - to our guests in New York City who were waiting for us when our caravan of cars filled with 22 volunteers and an abundance of cold weather gear arrived on 33rd Street.

We connected with guests we serve regularly, met new people and missed those we have come to know over the years - wondering where they were. Much gratitude was expressed from so many, including the couple with five children ages 7-17. They were overwhelmed with appreciation when we gave them enough meals, hats, scarves and gloves for their children. With about 20 meals remaining, we went into Penn Station and distributed food, toiletries and clothing. In the train station, we met a man who had a bandage over his eye, was wearing dirty clothes and a thin jacket. He asked us where we were from and when we told him a Greek Orthodox church, he said he had always wanted to understand more about the Orthodox faith. Deacon Simon had an engaging conversation with the man and was impressed with his knowledge of religion.

As we were packing up and just about to leave, we noticed a man, Jose, settling in for the night on steps nearby. Jose had a grocery cart with a few personal belongings in them and a small blanket that he was pulling over him. We see many homeless on the soup run and throughout New York City who sleep on the street but it really struck us to see this man getting ready to spend a cold and breezy night outside. Racing back to our cars, we searched for any remaining blankets. Miraculously, there was one large afghan in a car. We put it on Jose and gave him a hat, scarf, gloves and toiletries. He thanked us. We were amazed that we had one last blanket to provide.

Our final amazing experience last night happened on the subway as one of our volunteers was distributing a few meals. After giving a meal to a woman, she handed him a note that said: "You are precious in God's eyes".

The soup run is a demonstration of love, compassion and commitment from the many volunteers and supporters who come together every month to share their time, talent and treasures. Our volunteers go above and beyond and last night was no different. One volunteer chose to spend her birthday serving the homeless instead of attending a celebratory dinner and another volunteer delivered bags of clothing even though it was the day after her father passed away. This month, we express thanks and gratitude to everyone involved and to the following:

• Dennis Grammas from the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle for donating the meals

• Helen Hiotakis for sponsoring the soup run

• Minos Samoladas for his generous donation which enables us to purchase much-needed socks and underwear

• Amy and Mark of Mark Seiden Real Estate in Briarcliff Manor, NY for four large bags of coats from a neighborhood coat drive

• Margaret Luberda and the staff from the law firm Wilson Elser for six large bags of coats

• Deb van der Heyden for bags of new coats

• Carmela Capobianco (Peter Caviris' mother-in-law) for a bag of new coats 

• The Holy Trinity Philoptochos Knitting for Charity group and the entire community for donating 120 hand-knit scarves and hats

• Maria and Claudio Iaccarino of Bronxville's Park Place Bagels for hundreds of brownies, coffee cakes, socks, knit hats and scarves

• Alexis Livanos for homemade Christmas cookies

• Emmy Kalmanides from St. George (Norwalk, CT) homemade koulourakia, scarves and toothpaste

• Tara Fappiano and Jacqui Stix from the Tuckahoe Middle/High School PTA and students for toiletry kits in hand-decorated bags

• Georgianna Koulianos for toiletry kits

• Kathy Caffentzis for thermal underwear

• Athena Gregory for hand warmers

All are welcome to join the monthly Soup Run. In-kind donations, including warm clothing, hoodies and backpacks, as well as financial donations, are very much appreciated. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and one that is filled with good health, joy and compassion. In the words of Maya Angelou: "The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God - if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That's what I think."

Thank you (again!)

Over 150 gifts were distributed at the Christmas Party for WestCAP here in New Rochelle last night. Thank you to all the families who brought the gifts for the St Nicholas Giving Tree!

Thank you!

An amazing outpouring of love and generosity was displayed by our parishioners to the Saint Nicholas Giving Tree appeal this year. Over 150 presents will be distributed by Fr. Nick to needy children in the greater New Rochelle area through the WestCOP community service program.

Last Night's Soup Run

by Despina Kartson

We learn so much from the guests we serve every month, including during last night's soup run. Serving more than 125 meals of lasagna and 120 sandwiches on a blustery evening in New York City, we spoke with guests who have a gentle and good spirit, who teach us so much about life, living and maintaining a light heart while at the same time, they do not have a permanent place to lay their head. When we asked one guest where she would be sleeping last night, she told us she'd be staying in a place without heat, electricity or water but was thankful to be indoors. We shook hands with some who remarked about how cold our hands were and wanted US to stay warm. We distributed several icon cards and talked with a gentleman who asked us to explain the meaning of the iconography and the Greek letters. Later in the evening, we saw him sharing the card with a woman. Some guests proudly showed us coats and bags they had previously received from us. A man whom we had not seen in a couple of months, explained that he was struggling and "under a storm." Our hearts and prayers are with each and every individual we meet.

Through the generosity of spirit of a growing number of supporters and volunteers, our monthly serving of those in need continues to expand. There are many to thank including: 

1. Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for preparing the meals

2. Maria and Claudio Iaccarino (Park Place Bagels, Bronxville, NY) for 120 sandwiches and danish

3. Homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Lucy Caviris  

4. Minos Samoladas for his generous donation which enables us to purchase socks and underwear

5. Maria Dikeos for 36 backpacks and messenger bags

6. Margaret Luberda, Michael and the staff from the law firm Wilson Elser for six large bags of coats

7. Despina Taiyanides and Emmy Kalmanides from St. George (Norwalk, CT) who donated bags of new fleeces, blankets, homemade koulourakia, chocolates and snacks

All are welcome to join the monthly Soup Run. In-kind donations, including warm clothing, hoodies and backpacks, as well as financial donations, are very much appreciated. Be sure to support the Philoptochos "Hats & Gloves for the Homeless" sale on December 23rd where we hope to sell 100 sets of hand knit scarves, hats and gloves to take on the December 27th Soup Run. A very blessed and Merry Christmas to all. #PhiloStrong #bombas 

St. Nicholas Giving Tree

Holy Trinity once again starts its Toy Drive with the annual St Nicholas Giving Tree Program. Please feel free to stop by the Sunday School Bulletin Board in the foyer and pick a ornament off the tree and place a gift or two under the Christmas Tree in the Church. Deadline this year is Sunday, December 17th. The gifts will be given to the the New Rochelle WestCop Program Christmas Party. Our goal is 150 gifts!

Holy Trinity Philoptochos

Holy Trinity Philoptochos served an early Thanksgiving dinner at Gilda's House in White Plains.

Last Night's Soup Run

by Despina Kartson

During last night's soup run, after we served what we thought was the last of our 120 chicken dinners, one guest approached and asked for food. And then we realized that a volunteer was heading home on the subway with two remaining meals to give away. As happens so often, seemingly out of nowhere, we had one more meal to give to the last person we met.

There seemed to be fewer guests than usual on the street so our volunteers went into Penn Station and also walked around the block distributing food, blankets and toiletries. We met Bill, 80 years old, who was happy to receive all that we offered and said he is fine but waiting to get new teeth in two months. We talked with a woman who said the icon we gave her was the best gift of all. We offered a man a prayer card, and he said, “Only if it has your phone number on it.” Replying, “Better yet, it has God’s phone number on it.“ He took the card. One of our volunteers brought a coat for a special guest who was thrilled to receive it and completely touched that we would think of her.

There are so many caring and generous supporters involved in the soup run every month. It truly takes a village and our village has expanded well beyond the borders of New Rochelle! We thank and acknowledge the following: 
the anonymous sponsor of this month's soup run
spot purchases of specially requested items by Deb van der Hayden
Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for cooking and Kelly Sisco for helping to pack the food
Constantine Caviris for making sandwiches and cookies that we were able to give to our guests as an extra meal
Fr. Nick and Cyndi for donating two new folding tables
Alexandra Baudouin for donating winter jackets and hand warmers
Sock donations from Bombas
Minos Samoladas for his ongoing financial support, clothing and blanket donations
Tina Marie LePage, sister of Dino Yotides, who joined us from Boston, bringing with her 60 new sweaters! 
The Southampton Philoptochos for sending two boxes of toiletry kits they secured from Colgate. 
Amazing to see the far-reaching support for our soup run!

One final note, tomorrow is Make a Difference Loukoumi Day during which 100,000 children across the country will be sharing their good deeds. The Good Deed Celebration will take place tomorrow at Holy Trinity New Rochelle from 6-10pm. The children have been invited to donate one pair of socks to our soup run. Please support Make a Difference and join the celebration or donate at www.loukoumifoundation.org.

Our next soup run is the Thursday after Thanksgiving, November 29. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving surrounded by family, friends and the many blessings of life!

Last Night's Soup Run

by Despina Kartson

Our 115 guests on 33rd Street in Manhattan enjoyed the chicken souvlaki meal we served during last night's soup run. With the benefit of extra chicken from our recent Greek Festival, our chef prepared meals that included rice, vegetables, apples, coffee and hot chocolate. A few of our guests told us that they really appreciate our food and that it is always "the best".

With limited cars available to drive into the city, we pared down our clothing donations to those most necessary: socks, underwear, shoes and pants. Our two cars were packed with no room to see out of or to spare and we drove into the city to a large and welcoming crowd. Immediately, at least three men stepped out of line and helped us unload our cars and distribute some of the items.

As we often say, we enjoy talking with our guests and last night, one of our volunteers described his experience after a fun conversation with a group of men about sports:

It just felt great to talk with these guys and go back and forth about historic sports moments and current topics around the world. Robert, a man who I met for the first time today came up to me afterward and said how much he appreciated what we were doing. Words like these make you realize how much we mean to these men and women and I will do my best to make them feel the reciprocal... how much we appreciate them no matter the circumstances.

We are always grateful for the unending support of our volunteers and sponsors including The Fotiades family who sponsored last night's soup run, Manny Louros for preparing the meals, those who donated clothing and toiletries. A special thank you to Philoptochos who secured a generous donation of Bombas socks. Bombas is a sock company that has donated 8 million pairs to homeless shelters since launching in 2013. The company was founded to address the #1 most requested item in homeless shelters and for every pair purchased, Bombas donates a pair to someone in need.

We are also most appreciative of the efforts of many parishioners from Holy Trinity and friends in New York who come together every month to offer a listening ear and give their time to those in need.

The evening ended with a classic random act of kindness that we often experience. After we had driven a number of blocks and were stopped at a traffic light, a man in a car next to ours beeped, got our attention and told us that our car's trunk was open. He got out of his car, closed our trunk, waved and drove off - all in a New York minute!

We are accepting donations of new women and men's underwear, tee shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Tote bags and backpacks are always needed. Please join us on October 25.