“I first learned of God’s Love We Deliver when serving as a caregiver for my late, extraordinary Mother-in-Law, Rosa. She was battling Stage 4 Cancer, and our family were all doing our best to make sure she was comfortable and safe.

It was quickly becoming hard for her to gather the strength to eat food, let alone cook anything. I actually love to cook – and was determined to make all of her meals in batches so she could have something nutritious to eat whenever she wanted.  I soon discovered that the reality of our working full time, the distance we lived from her combined with the time spent in chemotherapy sessions left us all feeling drained, a little helpless and, well, it was a struggle to cook anything at all!

The burden that was lifted on our entire family because of the generosity of this type of organization cannot be put into words. It does not just help those who are sick, but also entire families who are navigating uncharted waters. It’s a consistent and nourishing presence that makes those in need feel they are not alone. We all felt like there was a community out there who cared for us during the most difficult time of our lives.

We did not have to worry about where her next meal would come from or how we would pay for it, and always had something delicious on hand to heat up.

A hot, nutritious meal should be a right, not a privilege. The fact that God’s Love We Deliver provides this resource is certainly a divine cause, and one I am proud to have supported during Douglas Elliman’s Ride for Love (and look forward to supporting in the future).

Coming together, albeit virtually, with my brokerage firm colleagues on our bikes to support this cause was truly life-giving for me. The fact that we are directly helping those effected by the current crisis gave me a sense of helpful-ness and purpose that I have greatly lacked personally during these strange times.

I started e-biking during COVID, and fell in love with the city all over again.  I am not an athlete, and am quite new to the biking world. I had started out using a lot of battery, but had been consistently using less and less e-assistance as the ‘Covid’ months went by. I got in better and better shape, and had already been commuting to apartment showings about 30-40 miles a day without much help for some time when I found out about the Bike for Love opportunity.

So when I noticed there was an opportunity to join the Elliman community to support this incredible cause, I felt it was meant just for me. I decided on 100 miles rather ignorantly (frankly because it matched rather nicely with the $1000 I thought I could raise!), and bought a Go-Pro so my family and friends could watch this beautiful city go by and feel like they were a part of it, too.

I separated it out into four trips. First, I biked the perimeter of Manhattan (I live in Washington Heights) which is about 30 miles. I came home to breakfast cooked by my extraordinary pit-crew husband Moti (without whom I could simply not have done this), then set out to my best friends place in Bushwick where she served the most delicious chicken sandwiches I think I’ve ever had. I then headed back home for another break, which amounted to about 35 miles. As I biked through the Bronx and Inwood I had a brief encounter with a car door.

Moti came to meet me and we rolled my broken bike to the fastest and most excellent bike repair man in Washington Heights (and his cat) and went home to ice my shoulder and eat some soup.

A bit shaken up but in good spirits, I felt I just had to finish the trip, and had 35 miles left to go. Instead of heading to Jersey (which was my original plan) I decided to go a route I bike every single day to show apartments – the Hudson River Greenway. I cannot lie, it very hard, and it took everything I had not to push the assist button on the bike. But the sense of accomplishment I felt coming home was well worth the trial. I had, along with my near and dear community, raised some money and helped a few families in need. Turns out we all were able to fund 239 meals. And is there any greater purpose? I don’t think so.

Thank you, Bridget Harvey and Julia Cordry, for working so tirelessly to facilitate this for all of us, and to God’s Love We Deliver,  for feeding families when they need it most.”

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” -Tagore