E-Newsletter December 2006
 
The Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen
http://www.downtowneveningsoupkitchen.com
 
Special Notes
From Jeanne Marie May, D.E.S.K.’s Director of Operations
 
Dear friends and supporters of D.E.S.K.,
 
I would like to share what an amazing Thanksgiving we had this year at D.E.S.K. This was my third year and, I have to say, the most moving. The number of people who called, emailed, and stopped by; the huge turnout of volunteers; and the great quantity of food donations were overwhelming, as were the number of people in need this year. I am happy to say that we were able to assist hundreds of families and individuals who are food insecure in New Haven and the surrounding areas. Thanks to the help of so many, we were able to meet significantly higher demand for our services this year than last year. We delivered hundreds of take-out meals on Thanksgiving, and then we had a beautiful sit-down meal at noon. I can say that our guests felt very special and were very grateful for all of our efforts.
 
D.E.S.K. sends a big thank you to Mark and Pat, who expedited take-out meals and all of the service on Thanksgiving Day, and all of our drivers, servers, families, and individuals who did their part to make it a special day for those in need of a nice Holiday.
 
D.E.S.K. has literally hundreds of people to thank for everything from the cooked pies, which were delivered with a smile, to the turkeys, which were brought in frozen and cooked with care. It will be impossible to thank everyone personally, so I will do my best to acknowledge all of the individuals and groups that helped, but let me just start by saying a BIG THANK YOU TO ALL!
 
First, D.E.S.K. would like to thank and acknowledge Center Church on the Green; the continual support of their members for all of D.E.S.K.’s initiatives makes it possible for us to thrive as an agency. From the use of their building, to their patience with our bumps along the way, to their financial support and their weekly attendance serving at our meals, we greatly appreciate all of their efforts. Every Thanksgiving, Center Church rallies to support us, and everyone chips in to help us reach our goals. This year, Linda in the office helped handle incoming frozen and cooked turkeys and food donations. Ken and Penny West, the Church Sextons, deserve thanks for their help and especially their patience. This year, Sandra, the presiding Pastor of Center Church, came to the meal and blessed the food, giving a wonderful heart-warming reflection on thankfulness. The Ladies Home Missionary Society once again this year donated $500 dollars to go directly towards Thanksgiving endeavors. Thank you!
 
To Blanche and Vi were our “stuffing queens” this year! Every year, we can count on Blanche to prepare the best stuffing on the planet! Yummy! Thank you, Blanche! Thank you also to Vi for the help and the bags of food that she brought in to help with the meal!
 
D.E.S.K. also would like to thank the Connecticut Food Bank. Without the hard work and unending support of the food bank’s staff, we would never be able to do what we do. They are truly an outstanding agency and just a great group of folks. My gratitude to them is endless.
 
Another huge thanks goes to Mrs. June Schaffer and ICM, our collaborative agency for the Thanksgiving meal. June has been pulling the Thanksgiving spirit through year after year, and she has an endless amount of joy and energy overflowing from a true heart for helping others. ICM contributed $300 dollars towards the Thanksgiving meal.
 
This year, on Monday, November 21st, the Community Foundation, which is organized by Tricia Caldwell, rallied to unload the van and the full U-Haul truck. They also helped sort food donations and made 300 turkey baskets, doing an amazing job. A special thanks to Mrs. and Mrs. Dureya, who donated warm clothing, milk, butter, and half and half and joined the Community Foundation on all their tasks.
 
Thank you to Citizens Bank for providing 1,000 green logo bags for all of our baskets and turkeys this year.
 
Turkey baskets were given out on Tuesday, and the need was great this year. We ended up giving out an extra 70 bags then we had planned to. Thanks to Diana Richter, Ph.D., our Executive Director, for being our parking lot attendant and the greeter of guests. Diana also prepared two turkeys for the meal. All the frozen turkeys that had been brought in from food drives and individuals were given out to families in need until Wednesday night.
 
Thank you to all our turkey carvers, who showed up Wednesday morning with a great spirit, and thank you to Hannah for standing tirelessly for more than hours chopping carrots for the stuffing.
 
We also thank all of the groups that showed up to help the week prior to and the week of Thanksgiving, including:
  1. •The Hopkins School
  2. •Youth With a Mission
  3. •Kappa Gamma Rho (brothers Nick Baisley, Tommy Sapienza, Michael Basset Jr., Mike Martino, Greg Shaiko, Eric Harding, and Tyler Thibeault)
  4. •Ernest, our Tuesday volunteer
 
The following also helped out in a big way:
  1. •New Haven Friendly Meeting (Quakers)
  2. •First Church of Christ Woodbridge
  3. •Trinity Church
  4. •Jess and the Yale Nursing/Medical students
  5. •Congregation of Mishken Israel
  6. •Ernest Lin
  7. •Temple Beth Shalom
  8. •Humanist Association of Connecticut
  9. •Slifka Center
 
Last-minute turkey cooks included:
  1. •Scott and Lisa Mclean
  2. •Blanche Baldwin
  3. •Susan Barringer
  4. •Diana Richter
  5. •Debbie Hauser
  6. •Mr. and Mrs. Ralston Brown
  7. •Penny and Ken West
 
A special thanks to Jud and the gang for showing up year after year! Jud and the guys arrived Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. to relieve the exhausted staff. They rolled up their sleeves and took over cooking, putting their talents into making gravy, mashed potatoes and potato salad. The next morning they returned at 6:00 a.m. with even more people, and they heated all the food. Jud’s dad, sister, friends, and family set it all up so that the food when out of the kitchen piping hot and without our staff needing to do anything! The guys who helped include:
  1. •Jud Smith
  2. •Rocco D’Angeles of Mild to Wild Automotive in Orange
  3. •Brian Hanson of Seal Roofing Company
  4. •Eddie Martino of Carminucios Pizza of Newtown, who brought 10 pizzas for us all to eat (and they were great!)
  5. •Tommy Goodwin
  6. •Matt Pickering
  7. •…and others!
 
All of us at D.E.S.K. would like to extend a special thanks to the International Silat Federation at Yale for weekly donations and a $50.00 gift card for Shaws.
 
The Unitaritan society
 
Thanks to First and Summerfield Church for ongoing support and for helping out in a big way on Thanksgiving and the day before.
 
Teacher Prep II for the Hillhouse Highschool food drive
 
Church of the Redeemer for turkeys and pies
Cub Scout Pack #213 for 700 pounds of food from their food drive!
 
A very, very big thanks to Paul Morris and the staff and students of the Sound School, who ran the biggest food drive this season, bringing in over 2,000 pounds of food!
 
A huge thanks to the New Haven Young Lawyers sections and the Connecticut Bar Association Young Lawyers sections for the Horn of Plenty food and clothing drive. They donated boxes and boxes of clothes and food once again this year, while continuing to serve meals year-round on the fourth Monday and Thursday of every month.
 
Tyler and Cooper Law office staff for serving the meal the night before Thanksgiving so that we could keep cooking over at 311 Temple.
 
The United Church on the Green for allowing us the use of their kitchen on Wednesday to prepare the regular meal. Also, thanks to Rev. John Gage for his support and to Colleen for providing some great “mental health support” to me during the holiday!
 
Acura of Milford for donating turkeys.
 
The Korean Church of New Haven, whose members have been of incredible service over the last months, serving the second and third Monday of every month.
 
The Foote School and Mrs. Valentine for serving every Wednesday night and for conducting food drives.
 
To North Haven Congregational Church for a large food drive.
 
D.E.S.K. gives an honorable mention to two dedicated daily volunteers: Carmella Stankiewicz and John Bethke. They have given tirelessly and were personally responsible for helping Thanksgiving run more smoothly this year. You two are the best!
 
D.E.S.K. also would like to acknowledge staff member Alex Yuknat for his hard work and enthusiasm in the workplace and for being responsible for picking up all the food drives for me this year!
 
Thanks to Saint Aden’s for 1,000 pounds of food collected in their food drive.
 
D.E.S.K. extends its sincere thanks to Joanne Scinto and the AT&T women for 50 scarves, which were made with love and given to our guests over Thanksgiving.
 
We also thank ProPark for their coat drive: they gathered a whopping 200 coats, which were delivered with a smile to our holiday guests.
 
Common Ground High School for helping clear up the wreckage after the holiday.
 
D.E.S.K. would like to express its sincerest gratitude to Citizens Bank for the 2006 “Champion in Action Award,” a $25,000 contribution in unrestricted funds from the Citizens Bank Foundation, and to WTNH for promoting our organization. Thank you both for recognizing D.E.S.K.’s 20 years of service to the New Haven community!
 
Thank you also to our weekly serving groups that help at our evening meals:
 
Mondays
  1. •1st of the month: Common Ground High School
  2. •2nd of the month: New Haven Korean Church
  3. •3rd of the month: New Haven Korean Church
  4. •4th of the month: Bar Association
 
Tuesdays
  1. •Scott McLean and members of First and Summerfield Church
 
Wednesdays
  1. •The Foote School kids and Mrs. Lynn Valentine, Margaret, and others
 
Thursdays
  1. •Blanche and Sandra of Center Church, who are there every week
  2. •1st of the month: North Haven Congregational Church
  3. •2nd of the month: The McDougal Center of Yale (thanks, Joel and Lisa)
  4. •3rd of the month: North Haven Congregational Church
  5. •4th of the month: Bar Association
  6. •5th of the month: Summit Technical Services
 
Fridays
  1. •Yale hunger heroes-Julia Galeota
  2. •Nicole Aaaronson
 
Sundays
  1. •The Joseph Slifka Center
  2. •Eliza Shafler
  3. •Josh Gold of the Congregation Or Shalom
  4. •Gary Drucker of the Temple Beth Sholom
  5. •Dottie Croog of the Temple Beth Sholom
  6. •Anne Tubis
  7. •Lori Cohen Sheehan of Temple Beth David
  8. •Marybeth Zuckerberg of Mishkan Israel
  9. •Judith Resnik
  10. •Lantega Richardson from Southern
  11. •Hannah Stone from the Hopkins School
  12. •Danielle Leonard from Quinnipiac University
  13. •Temple Emmanuel of Greater New Haven in Orange
 
Our weekly daytime help groups:
  1. •Youth with a Mission (Tuesday and Wednesday)
  2. •Hamden Hall (Tuesday through Thursday)
  3. •Saint Martin De Porres Academy (Wednesday)
  4. •Project Apoyo (Thursday)
  5. •Kappa Gamma Rho (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
  6. •Yale Hunger Heroes—the pantry crew (Sundays)
 
In closing, I would like to say that I am honored to work for the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. I was thankful this year to experience so many people coming together to give to others. I know the work we do is worthwhile, and we truly did make a difference this year in hundreds of people’s lives. On Thanksgiving, not only did we feed people, but also, I believe we touched their lives, and that is what I believe makes all the hard work worth it. Thanks to all and Happy Holidays!
 
All the best,
Jeanne Marie May
 
From the Executive Director, D. M. Richter, Ph.D.
D.E.S.K. has just begun its 2006 “Annual Letter Appeal,” and we desperately need your financial support to continue in our mission of feeding the hungry and food insecure of greater New Haven. Without your help, D.E.S.K. will have no choice but to cut back its programs, and the closure of the entire operation is still a very real possibility! Your generosity will enable us to continue to carry out our important work as we celebrate 20 years of service to the community.
 
Please see the D.E.S.K. website for more information.
 
A Reminder about the Holiday Season
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful Thanksgiving, and D.E.S.K. would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season!
 
D.E.S.K. kitchen and pantry will be closed from December 22 until January 2. Please see the list of food pantries and kitchens in New Haven and Hamden on the D.E.S.K. website for food options available during this time. Thank you for a wonderful year with D.E.S.K.!
 
Information
Food Donations
Drop off donations at 311 Temple Street between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, or call the kitchen (203-772-3400).
 
Volunteer Opportunities
Contact Jeanne (JeanneMarieMay@aol.com), and she’ll find something for you to do anytime from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. Remember: D.E.S.K. accepts all community service volunteers, and youth groups are also welcome!
 
Removal from E-Newsletter List
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Contact D.E.S.K.
Diana M. Richter
Executive Director
P.O. Box 1478
New Haven, CT 06506
Phone: 203-624-6426
Fax: 203-624-2116
director@downtowneveningsoupkitchen.com