The holiday season is in full swing here at God’s Love! We recently had what is being described as “the best Thanksgiving in God’s Love history”! Of course, it’s mostly us that are saying it, but it doesn’t make it any less true! Thanks to all of our phenomenal volunteers, we not only finished both kitchen and delivery duties ahead of schedule, we also prepared, packaged and delivered almost 500 more meals than last year! It truly was an amazing day which could not have gone as flawlessly as it did without your help. We had volunteers packing the hot meals in the kitchen, delivering meals in all boroughs and New Jersey and working in our office answering phones, entering forms, handing out gift baskets, packing delivery bags and giving directions. Thank you for everything and hope to see you on December 24th for our Winter Feast! 

We also recently commemorated World AIDS Day on December 1st with our friends from MAC Cosmetics. Over 17 years, the MAC AIDS Fund has provided God’s Love with over $2.5 million in support as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer service. We also welcomed a very special guest for the day, MAC Spokesperson, Cyndi Lauper! Cyndi spoke passionately about her dedication to the MAC AIDS Fund and even thanked God’s Love staff and volunteers for feeding some of her own friends in the 90’s. It was a very powerful day and we were thankful to have shared it with so many of our volunteers. 

And lastly, this past Saturday afternoon, we held a memorial service for one of our most beloved volunteers, Reggie Smith. It was a lovely celebration of Reggie’s life and his dedication to God’s Love We Deliver. In addition to serving on our Board, Reggie was always there to lend a hand and one of his famous hugs.  In the early days, he would fill in doing any job that needed doing so that staff could go on vacation and the clients wouldn’t miss a meal. His longtime partner Robert was always at his side – happy to help with anything Reggie did. Reggie contributed over 2,300 volunteer hours and 17 years of service. He was an incredible man who will be dearly missed and remembered by everyone, but we are all better for having known him.