October 2022 Newsletter
Love Thy Neighbor – Help To Keep The Holidays Traditions Happening.
As we prepare and look ahead to the upcoming holiday season, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. To kick off this holiday season, Hearts has started a “Feed A Family” initiative to help keep our neighbor’s Thanksgiving traditions going for future generations. We are excited to share with you a few family traditions from our neighbors in Riverside and through your generosity, Hearts will be able to lend a hand in keeping these traditions alive.
Our neighbor Owen recently moved to Riverside and is thankful for the friends he has made and for God watching over him every single day. This is his first Thanksgiving since his parents passed away. Without Hearts supplying his food needs, he didn’t think he would be able to make a Thanksgiving meal at all this year without his parents to support and contribute.
The McDuffie family is a large family of 10 who love sweet potato pie and their tradition is “to give the first family member to fall asleep after dinner a makeover” which is almost always their father! This year more than ever, the McDuffie family is relying on Hearts for the Homeless.
Gary Wilson will celebrate with his extended family for the first time since the pandemic! “My family’s favorite side dish is homemade stuffing that I make myself from freshly baked bread”, said Gary. Their Thanksgiving traditions of a packed apartment and home-made stuffing would not be possible without generosity from the community.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Matthew 22:39
The community has been so generous with giving back but our neighbors still need help. By donating a turkey, canned vegetables, among other items to Hearts’ Feed A Family initiative or sponsoring a family through Hearts for $35, to cover the cost of food items we will purchase, it will allow our neighbors to share in the joy of their holiday traditions and not miss out on the benefits of Thanksgiving.
From Hearts Kitchen
“Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.” ~Isaiah 58:7
SEPTEMBER 2022
Total Clients Served at Library: 1,165
Male: 833
Female: 254
Seniors: 24
Children: 21
Hot Meals Made for Homeless Shelters: 3,200
Meal Bags Made for Buffalo Dream Center Outreach: 400
DO NOT LEAVE DONATIONS OUTSIDE.
We cannot accept expired food or opened containers!
Hearts Harvest Food Pantry
With the help of volunteers, shoppers are finding the foods they need and because of the change in season, the Hearts Harvest Food Pantry is having more seasonal produce available.
| Households | Infants | Toddlers | Children | Adults | Seniors | Individuals |
| 509 | 41 | 109 | 416 | 851 | 126 | 1,543 |
Hearts Harvest Food Pantry serves the 14207 area. Our pantry staff and volunteers welcome those in the community who need the help from a food pantry to feed their families, Tuesdays 12pm to 4pm and Fridays 10am to 2pm at Hearts at 870 Tonawanda St. Riverside.
Hearts Mobile Food Pantry
Due to all the rain we had in September, we held our Mobile Food Pantry indoors. Using space in our garage, we were able to get people inside and out of the rain.
| Households | Infants | Toddlers | Children | Adults | Seniors | Individuals |
| 85 | 4 | 7 | 79 | 100 | 38 | 228 |
The Mobile Pantry that is held in partnership with FeedMore WNY will take a break during November and December to make way for holiday outreach programs.
