Preparing a Thanksgiving meal at Olive Street 11/23/17
*File Photo by Paul W. Wang
Everyday should be a day to thank our Veterans. Throughout the year, there are months that we show our appreciation: Memorial Day in May, and even though July 4th is our nation’s birthday, Veterans are also saluted. In November, is when we give Thanksgiving – not just on the 4th Thursday, but throughout the month.
The homeless are brought into the forefront, beginning with Community Dinners that are served by the city and ending on Thanksgiving Day.
First of all, we need to thank the churches and organizations who provide food year-round for all. Being homeless is not a requirement, for there are also people who just need companionship. At the recent fundraiser to help augment funding for Pastor Berny’s Center for Support, Success and Prosperity, Honoree Geri Barcheski delivered a very moving speech. She talked about the struggles that she endured, and of those who helped her.
There was another young woman who spoke who talked about being thrown into a dumpster at a young age by her mother. She talked about how Pastor Berny helped her and how she was able to regain custody of her two young children and will be soon regaining custody of her oldest child. This young woman is still going through struggles, but what keeps her focused are her children, and knowing that the Prosperity Center volunteers have her back.
We recently heard that Jon Bon Jovi’s foundation is donating $500,000 to help build 70 new homes for homeless Veterans in Washington D.C. Jon Bon Jovi also has two restaurants (Soul Kitchens): one in Red Bank and one in Toms River. There are no prices on the menu. It’s pay what you can afford or you can volunteer your time.
This year, the Renovation House in Perth Amboy will be feeding Thanksgiving meals in three locations in Perth Amboy: The Jankowski Center on Olive Street (open to everyone from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and at 415 Fayette St. and at 333 Rector St. (only for residents who live at those locations) from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
We will also like to thank the volunteers who man the warming centers in the City of Perth Amboy who give up their time to help those during the harsh winter season. Remember, it’s not only the homeless who suffer, but those who suffer when unexpected disasters occur. Tragedies do not discriminate.
So, we take this time to thank all for what they do, and appreciate all that does either behind the scenes or in the forefront. Every deed, no matter how small is important.
At the Shine The Light Dinner last Thursday, one of the speakers said: When you hand someone who is homeless money, look in them in they eye with compassion as you do so. Let them know you appreciate them as a fellow human being. C.M. & K.M.
A pedestrian gives money to a homeless woman on a street corner in midtown Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. As bitter winter weather arrived in the Northeast, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order requiring the homeless to be forcibly removed from the streets in freezing temperatures, an unprecedented government intervention that faced immediate legal questions and backlash. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Shine the Light Fundraiser for the Center of Support, Success & Prosperity 11/14/19 *Photo by Katherine Massopust
