Giving Thanks This Holiday Season

As we come upon the end of the year, we would like to step back and take a moment to discuss how grateful we are for the overwhelming amount of support we’ve received from our community over the last year. With your help, we have been able to feed and care for the needs of so many poor and homeless people in Buffalo. So far this year, from January to October of 2019, Hearts teams have been able to serve meals to 10,112 people of all ages. 

This was possible because of the kindness and dedication of the 35+ men and women that make up our 5 volunteer mobile crew teams, as well as, the 5-10 kitchen volunteers who assist our cook in meal preparation each week. Thanks to them, we are able to provide for the less fortunate 5 nights a week, 52 weeks out of the year.

We are also thankful for the labor of love from donor, Kathy Montgomery. Every year for the last 20 years, Kathy has baked personal-sized banana bread for our lower-income and homeless clients during both Thanksgiving and Christmastime. She has displayed a true servant’s heart.  We are also very grateful for all the many people and groups who bake dozens of Christmas cookies every year for our Annual Christmas Eve Dinner that allows each underprivileged guest to leave the event with their own personal bag of homemade Christmas cookies!

Thank you to Zion Dominion Church for their partnership. Their outreach team serves a Thanksgiving meal alongside Hearts For The Homeless, providing those struggling with homelessness a chance to celebrate the holiday. We look forward to working with them during this year’s Thanksgiving feast on Friday, November 29th. 

We are so grateful for our partnership with our incredible volunteers from the Western New York Developmental Disabilities State Operations (WNYDDSO). Each week, they come out to help us make dessert bags and help out with a variety of tasks. They work hard to help us keep our mobile soup kitchen organized and stocked with the needed supplies that we distribute to lower-income and homeless individuals.  

We would also like to express our gratitude for our partnership made possible by the William and Diane Hein Foundation. Because of their decision to allow the Eight Days of Hope disaster relief ministry to sublease space to Hearts, we have been able to change how we operate our Donation Bin and Recycling Programs. When we started, we were operating out of a small garage, always having to worry about rain damage and having to load from a ramp. Now, we have more space to work in and a truck dock for loading. We are so blessed to be able to work from here!

This year, Hearts has been so incredibly blessed through donations from our community, aid from our volunteers, and support from our partnerships. We would not be able to help those in need in our community without all of your generosity. We hope that next year we are able to build on the success of this year, but to do so we will need your continued support. Learn how you can join Hearts for the Homeless in giving back to our community, and keep track of our progress by following Hearts on Facebook and Twitter.