THE NEWSLETTER OF GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER NUTRITION: OUR SIGNATURE DIFFERENCE GODSLOVEWEDELIVER.ORG WINTER 2017 A Message From Karen Pearl he holiday season is always a special an integral part of the healthcare system, and time at God’s Love We Deliver. Our these results could move us closer to that volunteers, once again, eagerly jumped reality. Tin to help prepare and deliver a record 4,400 I thank everyone who participated in special meals at Thanksgiving and 4,600 our volunteer and fundraising activities in Winter Feast meals in December, making the 2016. Your compassion and generosity are holidays much more joyful for our clients, inspiring, and you have made it possible for their children and their senior caregivers. I us to achieve great success. was delighted to see so many familiar faces Here are but a few examples. At the helping in the kitchen and delivering holiday Golden Heart Awards in October, emcee meals throughout New York City and into Neil Patrick Harris joined a star-studded New Jersey and Nassau and Westchester line-up of entertainers, celebrity chefs and Counties. The many warm thank you notes models, along with our Board, Trustees, Celebrating the Cookbook with Board members Jon Gilman & Scott Bruckner and messages of gratitude from clients and Leadership Council, genLOVE members their families demonstrate the tremendous and friends to honor three people who have impact our volunteers and supporters made supported God’s Love in numerous ways: true labor of love from our beloved Board in clients’ lives this season. Thank you all so supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss, member Jon Gilman and dedicated volunteer much. the wonderfully talented restauranteur Danny Christopher Idone, is beautiful and full of Our state-of-the-art building makes it Meyer, and our beloved volunteer, Tat Leung, delicious recipes and engaging stories of easier to feed more people at the holidays who has amassed an astonishing 27,000 hours how food binds us together as family and and throughout the year. The Michael Kors in our kitchen. We are grateful to Michael friends. It proved to be a popular holiday gift Building is our nerve center, where we cook Kors for his partnership in this beautiful and that has also brought well-deserved national and home-deliver more individually tailored key event. recognition for our work. meals to more people than ever before. I At our Race to Deliver on November Again in 2016, God’s Love received am happy to note that our community’s 20, over 6,000 runners and walkers supported another four-star rating from Charity investment in this wonderful resource is our daily effort to get our meals cooked Navigator, the highest possible rating from producing an enormous benefit to thousands and delivered. It was a pleasure to cheer on this independent nonprofit evaluator. It is of New Yorkers who are living with HIV/ so many volunteers and supporters, and to wonderful to have God’s Love recognized for AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and introduce God’s Love to many more New the excellent stewardship of our organization other life-altering illnesses. Yorkers. and resources. Their recognition helps As we look to the new year, I am Other partners showed remarkable demonstrate our commitment to careful and delighted to announce that we are embarking dedication to our community as well strategic use of community resources to help on a research study with NYU Langone’s through extraordinary acts of generosity and those in greatest need. Perlmutter Cancer Center. The goal of this volunteerism. For example, the real estate Last year, God’s Love cooked and home- study is to assess the impact of food and agents of Douglas Elliman raised more than delivered more than 1.6 million meals for nutrition services on people living with $200,000 through their Ride to Reinvent, a individuals and families deeply affected by late-stage cancers, in the hopes that their 100-mile cycling fundraiser from New York severe and/or chronic illnesses. So many of lives and treatments will be improved with City to Atlantic City. you contribute your time and resources to good nutrition. Along with our food and This year, we published the God’s Love make this work possible. Thank you so much. nutrition colleagues across the country, we We Deliver Cookbook: Nourishing Stories and have advocated for our services to become Recipes from Notable Friends. This project, a IN THIS ISSUE 3 4 8 11 CLIENT PROFILE Delivering Love to Agnes teaching, she’d enjoy visits with her family made things so much easier.” and trips to the movies. Agnes looks forward to the knock In March of 2011, the routine Agnes on her door from our drivers on Tuesdays had created for herself for the last 30 years and Thursdays, and often calls her son in came to a halt. Agnes developed a severe Virginia to report which delicious and Our Client: Agnes neurological condition, which paralyzed her healthy meal she’s having for dinner that right side and changed everything in her night. She appreciates speaking to our ur client Agnes is a 95-year-old world. She could no longer drive nor create Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who great-great-great grandmother art. In fact, for the first three months, Agnes counsel her on best nutrition practices. She living in Queens. Born in Harlem could not even walk. says, “I know I’m getting a wholesome OHospital, Agnes has lived in New York City With no use of her right side and meal when I get a meal from God’s Love. her entire life, working first at the shipyards difficulty standing and walking, Agnes I can feel how much better the food is and then for years at New York Telephone could no longer shop or cook for herself. making me. The food is so good.” Company. After her retirement in 1980, When she left the hospital, her doctor So much has changed for Agnes in Agnes kept busy doing what she truly loves suggested she try God’s Love We Deliver, recent years due to her condition and – teaching art classes at senior centers. so she could get nutritious, delicious meals recovery. Meals from God’s Love have Agnes made her first foray into the arts delivered right to her door and not have to brought back a sense of normalcy to her by attending art school. There, she learned worry about where her next meal would life. She feels so much appreciation for crochet, macramé, ceramics, and any come from. every volunteer and supporter who helps other art she could make with her hands. Agnes remembers her first meal from make her meals possible. Teaching art to seniors was her passion, God’s Love like it was yesterday. She tells “It is a blessing to have God’s Love and she taught at centers in Queens and us, “When I got that first meal, I was just We Deliver in my life. I can taste the love the Bronx, driving between boroughs each shocked! When I tasted that food, it was so and care in every bite, thanks to all of the day to share her expertise. When she wasn’t delicious, and so good for me. And it has volunteers. I feel so cared for.” PAGE 2 PAGE NEWS Giving Thanks and Giving Back he holiday season can be a meals, which included delicious filled with holiday treats like cheese difficult time for so many homemade roast turkey with gravy and crackers, tea, and hot chocolate New Yorkers and their families and cornbread stuffing, Brussels for our clients. These holiday baskets Twho are affected by severe illness. sprouts, carrots, pearl onions, sweet were graciously donated by The That’s why, each Thanksgiving, potatoes, cranberry relish, and apple Krumholz Foundation, US Foods, the God’s Love community comes crisp. And we welcomed more than Aramark, Workman Publishing, together to cook and deliver a special 1,200 volunteers on Thanksgiving Carol Alexander and by the Binn holiday meal for our clients and their morning to help deliver this tasty Family Foundation in loving children, and senior caregivers. If and nutritious meal. memory of Penny Binn Binstock. requested, we also deliver extra meals But that’s not all. Our Thank you so much to every for guests so that no client has to Thanksgiving meals are delivered volunteer, staff member and God’s spend the holiday alone. in beautiful bags decorated by local Love supporter who gave their time This Thanksgiving was our students as part of our Holiday Bag this Thanksgiving. With the help of second in the new Michael Kors Decorating Program. In addition, hundreds, we are able to cook and Building, and our biggest yet. the weekend before Thanksgiving, deliver meals and holiday cheer to The Kitchen team cooked a almost 100 dedicated volunteers clients, without charge, without fail, record 4,400 special Thanksgiving helped assemble special gift baskets and most importantly, with love. Text godslovenyc to 22828 to join our email list. Data and message rates may apply. Please call 212.294.8141 with any CONNECT WITH US! questions or concerns. godslovewedeliver godslovenyc godslovenyc godslovewedeliver godslovewedeliver godslovenyc HOW WE DELIVER Checking In With Our Delivery Team very weekday, our houses of worship, adult delivery drivers, day care, and offices van assistants and throughout our service Eother delivery volunteers area. Then, volunteers knock on hundreds of arrive at lunchtime to doors in the greater deliver those meals to New York City area to our clients. Many of our deliver nutritious meals NMDCs have been in Volunteers who deliver meals, and deliver love to our sick neighbors in action for years, even need.