March 2021 Newsletter
On Our Hearts
Your Life Matters
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
From a recent teaching, the following words rang loud and clear. Not only were we created in the image of God, God has a plan, a destiny, for each life that he has created and given breath – a rich life. Isn’t it amazing that He also gives us skills, desires, and characters to be able to carry out the plan He originally outlined for us?
But, many of us lose out on that plan because we aren’t asking God to guide us to it. There are so many distractions in the world today; it is full of opportunities, however many of us still feel unfulfilled because we aren’t living the plan that God created for us to carry out.
It’s up to us to ask God what that plan is. And more importantly, listen. You might miss the answer if you don’t know how to hear God’s voice. You learn to hear it by talking to him daily through prayer. God puts dreams in our hearts and He wants to help us fulfill them.
“We all have a God-given dream – just the thought of it sets our hearts racing! Sadly, most people never see their dream come to pass, so they never fulfill the destiny God has for them.” (Pastor Robert Morris, Gateway Church, November 8 – December 12, 2020)
Yours might be a dream that others can benefit from. As Christians, we are encouraged to serve others and God’s plan for us usually includes some form of service from which will give you that fulfillment you may have been looking for.
We encourage you today, no matter where you are in life, to not miss out on that plan or the dream in your heart. Talk to God; ask him to show you how you can fulfill yours!
Volunteer Opportunities
Food Pantry
Monday, between 9:30am – 4:30pm
1 or 2 people – can split the shift, to assist in grocery distribution
Friday, 9am – 2pm
1 or 2 people – can split the shift, to assist in grocery distribution
Mobile Food Pantry
1st Friday of the month, 12:00pm – 3:30pm
1st Friday of the month, 10:00am – 2pm
Hand out fresh produce and other food to the community
Kitchen
Tuesday, anytime between 9:30am – 12:00pm
1 person to make sandwiches
Wednesday, 10am – 2pm
1 person to assist cook with meal prep
Hearts Thrift Shop News
The thrift store is another lifeline to those in our community and continually gives us an opportunity to “love our neighbors” when they come in:
Our racks are getting filled with spring and summer clothing.
Remember, when you shop you are supporting our outreach to the homeless, poor and local community.
Lives Touched Last Month
February 2020
Total Clients Served: 1,713
Homeless: 1,527
Male: 1,646
Female: 59
Seniors: 6
Children: 2
Meal Bags for Buffalo Dream Center Outreach: 400
Talk from the Street and Heart
Our volunteers can also be heroes, in the right place at the right time, as sometimes volunteering can take an unexpected turn. Last month, our Thursday Night Mobile Crew was able to come to the urgent aid of a passerby on a bicycle who fell due to a problem with low blood sugar. He was not in very good shape and the situation was very serious. Thank God one of our crew members, Linda, was an RN. Our team sprang into action, by calling 911; giving him some cookies to get his blood sugar back up, and staying with him until the ambulance came. Thank you – Linda, Angela, John T., Margaret, and John P. Hearts is honored to have each of you on the team.
We receive many reports back from our team members, like Saturday Crew’s, Jeanine, that serving those who stand in line to eat nightly, gives them a joy in their hearts; it makes them feel fulfilled in their desire to help others.
As we continue to deliver hot meals and sandwiches to the Little Portion Friary homeless shelter, we were also able to bless the shelter guests with brand new Bombas Socks.
Throughout last month, our teams handed out personal care bags during our meal distribution (including socks, razor & soap, snacks and more). This is always an unexpected surprise for those in our feeding line.
Hearts Harvest Food Pantry
Thank you to Lake Effects Ice Cream for donating a pallet of ice cream to our food pantry for the community families to enjoy. This will put a bit of excitement into their grocery bags that we hand out to them. Even though the weather has been as cold as this ice cream, who doesn’t love ice cream!? AND thank you to everyone who supported our walk-in freezer project. We can accept large donations because of you!
Our pantry staff and volunteers welcome those in the community who need the help from a food pantry to feed their families, Monday 12 to 4; and Fridays 10 to 2 at Hearts at 890 Tonawanda St., Riverside.
| Households | Infants | Toddlers | Children | Adults | Seniors | Individuals |
| 483 | 32 | 88 | 435 | 917 | 53 | 1,525 |
Food Pantry Volunteer Opportunities
Monday, 9:30am – 4:30pm
1 or 2 people – can split the shift, to assist in grocery distribution
Friday, 9am – 2pm
1 or 2 people – can split the shift, to assist in grocery distribution
If you are interested in volunteering, please go to our website at heartsforthehomeless.org to fill out an application or email office@heartsforthehomeless.org with interest.
Hearts Mobile Food Pantry is held every 1st Friday of the month from 1:30pm to 3:30pm behind DePaul Apartments at 238 Ontario St., Riverside. Families in our community can come as often as we have them as a supplement to our onsite food pantry.
| Households | Infants | Toddlers | Children | Adults | Seniors | Individuals |
| 54 | 1 | 9 | 37 | 86 | 17 | 150 |
Mobile Food Pantry Volunteer Opportunities
1st Friday of the month, 12:00pm – 3:30pm
1st Friday of the month, 10:00am – 2pm
If you are interested in volunteering, please go to our website at heartsforthehomeless.org to fill out an application or email office@heartsforthehomeless.org with interest.
Clothing Donations
We are so grateful for all of your donations. We also have a bin onsite at our outreach center at 890 Tonawanda Street; you can find the bins located in your area by going to our website at www.heartsforthehomeless.org, click on Bin Finder, put in your zip code and those in your area will appear.
Hearts follows strict COVID regulations; please note that some of the photos in this newsletter were taken pre-COVID.
