A Message from Karen Pearl
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THE NEWSLETTER OF GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER FOOD IS LOVE FOOD IS MEDICINE GODSLOVEWEDELIVER.ORG WINTER 2018 A Message From KAREN PEARL, GWYNETH PALTROW, Karen Pearl JON GILMAN & BRAD LEARMONTH With the holidays behind us, I want to this, we relied on thousands of volunteers the support of many, especially our friends share my heartfelt gratitude for all we have who brought smiles and hope to every at Michael Kors. We were also thrilled to accomplished together at God’s Love this client’s door. announce an extraordinary $1 million gift past year. from our long-time and dear friend Calvin Our accomplishments in 2017 also included Klein, who is also donating the proceeds Last October, we delivered our 20 millionth adding 30 new items to our menu, increasing from his new book to God’s Love. meal. This is an outstanding accomplishment outreach to those who served in our military, made possible by you and so many others and making great progress on integrating Every gift matters to our clients, and our throughout our organization’s history. Having food and nutrition into healthcare reform. community’s spirit of generosity comes in started with our founder, Ganga Stone, many forms. Maybe you volunteered once bringing a meal to a man living with AIDS, The feedback from our clients has been through your company’s day of service, or we now deliver more than 1.7 million meals heartwarming. Whether you are a volunteer, you maintained a weekly volunteer shift. annually to people living with more than 200 a donor, a God’s Love staff member, or a Perhaps you joined us at year’s end with a life-altering illnesses including HIV, cancer, friend in our community, please know that gift of a holiday meal for a client during our chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, multiple our clients share their gratitude with you for “Celebrate with a Plate” campaign. Or, you sclerosis, and others. With your help, our all your love and support. I especially want might be one of many friends who signed most vulnerable neighbors know they are to thank the 10,000 people who volunteered up for our monthly giving program. Through never forgotten. with us last year. Whether you worked in the expressions of generosity and kindness, kitchen or meal packaging, delivered meals large and small, you made a difference in the In November, we cooked and home delivered or helped in our offices, we are grateful for lives of thousands of people too sick to shop more than 5,500 Thanksgiving meals to our your gifts of time and compassion. or cook for themselves. Thank you. clients, and their children and caregivers, and added an extra meal so that clients could Last year was an outstanding year for A new year is upon us, and there is much to invite a guest to join their holiday dinner. signature events. We closed out 2017 with do. I look forward to working with you in 2018. In December, we brought cheer to all of our the Golden Heart Awards dinner in October clients and their families with holiday meals, and the Race to Deliver in November. At the and gifts for clients and their children. To do dinner, we raised more than $2.3 million with 2 4 9 10 IN THIS ISSUE CLIENT PROFILE: he might not even recognize his own neighborhood now. Delivering Before God’s Love, Craig was extremely worried about how he Love to would survive on his own. Working in the theater for so long, Craig knew Craig many influential people, but getting sick changed everything. He had Our client Craig is 78 years old never had to ask for help before. and lives with chronic obstructive Luckily, he had a friend in Joan Rivers pulmonary disease. Although he grew who referred him to our program. up in Minnesota, Craig has lived in the Craig reached out to God’s Love same apartment on the Upper West and immediately began receiving Side of Manhattan for the past 55 years. nutritious, home-delivered meals Before he got sick he was a passionate tailored specifically for him and his singer and cabaret performer who diagnosis. traveled all over the world with his partner of 23 years. “God’s Love has been a big change for me. I love the fresh vegetables! I feel a During his time in show business, difference – I feel more energized, like Craig performed in New York City, I could conquer the world,” Craig says. God’s Love has been Chicago and London, and was on the He also loves the relationship he has Board of the Spectrum Theatre. He developed with God’s Love delivery a big change for knew everyone from Julie Andrews to driver Jason. Craig does not get many me. I love the fresh Lauren Bacall to Judy Garland. It was visitors, so seeing Jason twice a week an exciting time, and Craig lived an makes a difference. vegetables! I feel a exciting life. difference – I feel more Craig expressed his gratitude to God’s Today, Craig uses a wheelchair and Love for providing comfort, love, and energized, like I could PAGE 2 PAGE is alone. He takes 32 pills every day nutritious meals, and for making his conquer the world.” to just stay alive. It has been three life a little easier: “Please keep going. years since he has been able to leave You help so much.” his apartment, and Craig suspects ADVOCACY UPDATE: Public Officials Lend a Helping Hand on Thanksgiving This year we were thrilled to be joined by many public officials and their staff, who pitched in to make Thanksgiving memorable for our clients. They helped prepare meals in the kitchen and packed them ORLANDO RODRIGUEZ KAREN PEARL & out into festively decorated bags. We needed all the help we could & HIS DAUGHTER CONGRESSMAN NADLER get as this was our biggest Thanksgiving ever! We were joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler and his staff, as well as representatives from Borough President Gale Brewer’s office and City Council Member Corey Johnson’s office. Theirs was a true gift of public service as they took time away from their own Thanksgiving celebrations to provide a festive experience for their constituents. Thanks to our public officials for making this Thanksgiving special for our clients at God’s Love. We were so pleased that we had the chance to share our urgent mission in action with our SEAN COUGHLIN & representatives, and that they saw firsthand the impact of our work STEPHANIE JONES DAWN BILLINGS on the lives of so many. NEWS: Stepping Up to the Plate this Thanksgiving The holiday season can be a difficult time for so many New Yorkers and their families affected by severe illness. That’s why, each Thanksgiving, the God’s Love community comes together to cook GOD’S LOVE STAFF & VOLUNTEERS and deliver a special holiday meal for our clients and their children and senior caregivers. We also offer an extra meal to every client for a guest because we believe that no one should have to spend the holiday alone. Every year, the demand for our services grows. This Thanksgiving STEVE SIMON, LISA was no exception. The Kitchen team cooked a record 5,500 special BURGETT, BLAINE TRUMP, DAVID LUDWIGSON & MARC JACOBS & Thanksgiving meals, which included delicious homemade roast CHRISTOPHER TRUMP CHAR DEFRANCESCO turkey with cornbread stuffing and mushroom gravy, pumpkin bisque, sweet potato mash, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots, pearl onions, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp. God’s Love was proud to again offer a vegetarian option, and minced or pureed options for clients who have trouble chewing or swallowing. The day before the holiday, our good friends Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Jordan NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, AMANDA FREITAG, BLAINE TRUMP, JORDAN ROTH ANDREW RANNELLS & Roth, Andrew Rannells, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Chef Amanda Freitag, & DAVID BURTKA CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER Blaine Trump and Gabriel Stulman joined in the kitchen to pack out thousands of our Thanksgiving meals. We also welcomed more than chocolate for our clients. These holiday baskets were graciously 1,000 volunteers on Thanksgiving morning to help deliver this tasty donated by The Krumholz Foundation, Carol Alexander, and the Binn and nutritious meal. Family Foundation in loving memory of Penny Binn Binstock. Our Thanksgiving meals are delivered in beautiful bags decorated Thank you to every volunteer, staff member and God’s Love by local students as part of our Holiday Bag Decorating Program. supporter who gave their time this Thanksgiving. With the help of In addition, the weekend before Thanksgiving, more than 70 many, we were able to cook and deliver meals and holiday cheer to dedicated volunteers helped assemble special gift baskets clients, without charge, without fail, and most importantly, with love. 3 PAGE filled with holiday treats like cheese and crackers, tea, and hot NEWS: Elaine and Ralph Wilson, Program Outreach Partnerships Coordinator, conceived the idea for an Expo last spring. Producing in Action: an “open house” God’s Love Hosts Inaugural required help from every department. “It was an ALEX ROEM, OSCAR LOPEZ, LOURDES PADILLA, RONNIE FORTUNATO, LISA ZULLIG, Community Partners Expo exciting experience, from ELAINE KIANG, OMAR GIL, & RALPH WILSON start to finish,” Ralph Many of our partners in the community refer their clients to God’s said. “Creating an event that had no template, along with helping to Love without ever having visited our SoHo headquarters. We are get the word out to multitudes who had never utilized the services of working hard to change that. On Tuesday, September 26, more God’s Love before, was immensely satisfying.” than 45 Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) partners of God’s Love We Deliver convened at our SoHo facility as we hosted our first With our Community Partners Program, God’s Love receives Community Partners Expo with the theme “Food is Medicine.” reimbursement through contracts with MLTC plans, helping to create long-term sustainability for our clients.