As you all know well, God’s Love is a busy place this time of year. I am happy to report that our first Thanksgiving out of Brooklyn went off without a hitch as we cooked and delivered more than 3,200 traditional Thanksgiving meals delivered to over 2,000 households. Our Volunteer Department has jumped right into planning for the special Winter Feast meal delivery that is happening this year on Tuesday, December 24.The kitchen staff have worked especially hard creating a festive and delicious menu, which will include a stuffed Cornish game hen, corn chowder, mixed vegetables and pumpkin mousse – a brand new dessert that is absolutely delicious.
As we head into the New Year, I want to provide an update on what’s happening here in Brooklyn and how construction is progressing at our SoHo home. I am delighted to announce that Nic Cortese will be joining God’s Love as the Director of Culinary Services. Nic brings many years of experience in culinary and food service management to God’s Love and will be in charge of kitchen operations and planning as we grow our services for clients.
It is hard to believe that we are already in our third month in Brooklyn, where we continue to learn, adjust and grow with every new hiccup we face. We have greatly improved the kitting process, thanks to many of the suggestions offered by volunteers. We have corrected construction issues in the kitchen and improved the delivery and kitting areas in terms of light and temperature control. Of course, as we are only tenants here, we cannot change everything as much as we would like, and we anticipate that other issues will crop us from time to time. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to address them as quickly as possible. As always, we welcome your feedback and thoughts.
If you currently drive to God’s Love Brooklyn for your shift, you will soon be assigned a parking pass to help speed your entry and exit. The Volunteer Department is collecting names, vehicle make and models, along with license plate numbers. In the coming week, each vehicle will be issued a parking pass to be placed on your rearview mirror. This will make it possible for you to park in special God’s Love parking spaces.
Some people have expressed a sense of disconnect from fellow volunteers and God’s Love staff, with operations spread on three floors of the building. One of the greatest assets of God’s Love has always been a shared sense of purpose and community. Each day, we work hard to maintain this sense of closeness as we are dedicated to making our time in Brooklyn a great experience for staff, volunteers and visitors.
There is much to share about the work that is going on at our permanent home in SoHo. If you have passed our SoHo home in the last few weeks, you may not have recognized the building. Interior demolition is complete and sidewalk bridges have been installed. All building permits are in place and exterior demolition has begun. The next step will be the installation of pilings on which the expanded building over the loading dock will rest. We anticipate construction to move fairly quickly once the pilings are in place, with our plan being to move back in early 2015. Before you know it, we will be enjoying everything our new building has to offer.
Please check out our website and social media (including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for updates and photos as the work progresses. It’s a historic time for God’s Love and we will be documenting the construction throughout the process.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to see me or any member of the Executive Team (David Ludwigson, Candy Bonder and Michael Kanyuck). I will continue to send updates on our progress as we reach new milestones. Thanks again for your tireless dedication to the mission of God’s Love We Deliver and for your commitment to making our services the best they can be for our clients.
All my best,
Karen
