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Bensonhurst Non-Profit Continues to Feed Community Despite Lack of Funding

By Katie Vasquez

Offering the Thanksgiving bird and all the fixings to needy families is an annual tradition for Reaching Out Community Services.

It’s why people lined up outside the new location on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York hours before the event started, hoping to get a feast for their family. That feast is something that those like single mom Ofeliya Amirova know they couldn’t afford otherwise. 

“If I were to go to the store right now, it would be more than $100 easy,”Amirova, a client at Reaching Out Community Services., tells Currents News.

But the Brooklynite was worried when she heard the non-profit was struggling to keep its doors open. 

“I was worrying myself because how are we gonna have the staples,” she asks.

Due to a lack of funding, Reaching Out Community Service had to reduce staff and the amount of families they help every year.

It also impacted this year’s Operation Gobbler Giving. 

 “It’s not going to be as many. We usually have 800 families, maybe about 300 families we’ll take care of,” Founder and Executive Director of Reaching Out Community Services, Thomas Neve, explains. 

He says 2024 has been especially difficult. 

 “I’ve never seen it like this before,” he admits. “You know, people have really gone through hard times. I know everybody wants out there, but I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in those who need.” 

Those waiting in line who have so little say they appreciate the help and that Reaching Out Community Service can give so much.

“It’s sad because they’re good people, and they’ve always been helping people for a lot of years,” says Desree Velez, a client at Reaching Out Community Services. 

“There’s a lot of homeless people, a lot of people in need. A lot of places are closing down,” Camille Allen, another client adds.

The non-profit is taking it day by day.

“I’m going to just walk by faith because right now I have no idea,” Neve tells Currents News, knowing that every holiday meal they provide, brings people closer to the true spirit of the season.  

“This is the highlight of our Thanksgiving,” Amirova says, “because, my daughter’s expecting a nice turkey for us to make, and we make memories.”

 

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 11/26/2024

Reaching Out Community Services says it’s been struggling to stay open in Brooklyn after funding cuts, but the organization won’t let this impact the number of families it helps this Thanksgiving.
Black Catholic History Month is ending in the Diocese of Brooklyn. At St. Bonaventure – St. Benedict the Moor in Queens, parishioners marked the month with song and dance.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Vatican. A 95-foot-tall Norway Spruce has arrived in St. Peter’s Square.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy Wins Award for Excellence in Education

By Currents News

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy in Forest Hills, Queens, has been named a 2024 Cognia School of Distinction.

Cognia is a global school improvement nonprofit which recognized 60 schools and programs for their excellence in education out of nearly 2,000 that were considered around the world. 

The school celebrated November 25 with an assembly in honor of their success. The Cognia accreditation which evaluates learning, environment, and leadership lasts for one year.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 11/25/2024

With Thanksgiving just days away, St. John’s Bread & Life says it is committed to feeding more with less—it is poised to distribute 11,000 meals this week.

Some 1,600 young people from Brooklyn and Queens gathered at St. Thomas Aquinas Church for Catholic Youth Day with Bishop Robert Brennan.

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen to the public in less than two weeks. National Correspondent John Lavenburg joins Currents News to share what visitors can expect.

Archdiocese of Paris Prepares for Reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral

By Currents News 

We are now less than two weeks away from the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

On December 7 there will be a reopening ceremony followed by an inaugural Mass and consecration of the main altar the next day. 

This is the first time Notre Dame will open its doors to the public since it was badly burned five years ago. 

Now that the countdown is on, the Archdiocese of Paris is releasing more details on the Cathedral’s reopening plans. 

Here to discuss the details is the National Correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, John Lavenburg.

Catholic Academy Students Learn Media Comms in Newly Blessed Computer Room

By Currents News

Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan was at Incarnation Catholic Academy in Queens, New York on November 22 blessing some of the new spaces at the school. He helped unveil the Incarnation’s new hydroponics lab, library, student council room and computer room – all of which were made possible by NET-TV’s parent company DeSales Media Group. 

The computer room will be used for a six-module media communications course developed by Catholic Telemedia Network (CTN) to teach the kids lessons about journalism and social media.

Bishop Brennan says the upcoming classes are a great way to introduce kids to the online world, while students say they’re eager to start spreading the good news. 

“We always hear about social media and both positive and negative tones. and it’s like anything else in the world has to be developed in a responsible way and to be felt in a responsible way,” Bishop Brennan tells Currents News. “Then, it can be great help for communications.”

“I’m very excited because I feel like I need to get better. on saying my speeches and pronunciation. I’m putting out my work and all that in my writing because I like to write a lot,” Savanna Wharton, an 8th grader at Incarnation Catholic Academy, says. 

“I like writing stories in my free time. I like talking and writing a lot,” adds 6th grader Austin Belizaire. “I like sharing my own experiences so that seems pretty fun to me.”

Incarnation Catholic Academy is the first school to host the CTN program. DeSales Media donated iPads that will be used to facilitate media creation and will have several staff members taking part in the efforts, including Currents News’ anchor Christine Persichette.

St. John’s Bread & Life Feeds the Hungry for Thanksgiving Despite Slash to Government Funding

By Jessica Easthope

Days before Thanksgiving, you’ll find that there’s a steady flow of people at Lizzie Gibbs’ window at St. John’s Bread & Life soup kitchen in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. 

She knows what hunger feels like: she’s a volunteer, but she’s also a client.

“I had gotten ill, and I couldn’t bring in any income,” she explains. “So I had to humble myself and take help from outside sources.”

Last Thanksgiving Bread & Life handed out 6,500 meals. This year, they’ll be giving nearly 11,000 despite a major slash to government funding. 

“There are many more pantries popping up because the needs are greater,” Sister Caroline Tweedy, the Executive Director of Bread & Life tells Currents News. “And I guess the government feels they want to spread the wealth.”

She says Bread & Life has nearly $8,000 less than they did last year. It’s an issue when food insecurity is on the rise in Brooklyn. In 2024 it’s reached almost 20% – that’s 7 points higher than the national average according to the New York City council. Sr. Caroline says that between inflation and the migrant crisis, they’ve never seen so many hungry people at Bread & Life.

“And when you take that kind of a hit, you have to figure out, ‘How do we continue to serve the people in need?’ with what you have,” she adds. 

The work that’s done behind the scenes to provide the food Lizzie’s handing out of her window  isn’t easy. Sr. Caroline has had to pump up her fundraising efforts by securing money from the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, iHeart Radio and Food Bazaar. 

“Limiting the number of times a person can shop in the pantry, reducing the number of items a person could take, we haven’t had to do any of that because we have been very aggressive in our approach,” she says. 

Somehow Bread & Life continues to do more with less, and be a stable force in the lives of those New Yorkers in need.

“I look at it as seeing the face of God in the other,” explains Sr. Caroline. “And if we are true to our mission, we can’t turn anyone away… No funding or full funding, I don’t see a difference because we’re still here. And we never said no.”

St. John’s Bread & Life is on track to serve 4.5 million meals this year and continues to never turn anyone away.