Staff and Volunteers
Founded by the Felician Sisters in 1985, the center is almost entirely staffed by volunteers. Under their leadership, hundreds of individuals serve the needs of the community. We have so many people and groups that assist us, it is difficult to spot-light specific ones, but some of faces at the center that may be most familiar to you are listed below.
For more information about volunteering opportunities, contact our volunteer coordination team at 894-7030.
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Founder and director of the center. Sr. Johnice is a nationally known speaker and provides the center with the spiritual guidance to touch the lives of those in need. E-mail: HERE |
Sr. Catherine & Sr. Rose These Felician sisters provide the support needed to run the center’s day-to-day operations. From thrift shops to intake to the facility, the sisters are hands on and involved in caring for those that enter the doors of the center. |
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Fran has been with the center since its opening in 1985. She is not only our wonderful cook, but she is the heart of our dining room. Fran was recently recognized by the Buffalo News and Am-Pol Eagle for her humanitarian works. |
Volunteer Coordinator Team
Our volunteer
coordination team now coordinates volunteers within the center and
manages the scheduling and orientation of new volunteers. |
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Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Peter 4(8-11) |
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RESPONSE TO LOVE: Three mornings a week, starting at 6:15 am, RSVP volunteer Fran Zalewski works her magic in the kitchen at the Response to Love Center. Later that morning, she will have prepared enough hot, homemade meals to serve 150-300 guests who come for lunch at the Center. Other volunteers speak of Fran's cooking prowess with respect. One volunteer explained, Fran makes everything from scratch. She can take a plain chicken and turn it into something really special. The volunteers at Response to Love come for one reason: they wish to help others who are in need. Response to Love is located on the East Side of Buffalo in a building that previously housed St. Adalbert's School. The surrounding neighborhood is a place where many families face daily struggles related to poverty, unemployment, poor housing, and other concerns. Response to Love is a haven for the needy in the area. Underlying all the work done by the volunteers for the neighborhood are the values of self-worth, dignity, and respect. The Center is run by four Felician Sisters from St. Adalbert's Convent. There is no paid staff. Volunteers donate their time to run the various programs at the Center including a daily food kitchen, a monthly food pantry, holiday meals for the needy, a thrift shop and food for the homeless. Last year, Response to Love Center served more than 27,000 people in the food kitchen. On Thanksgiving, the Center prepares enough turkeys to serve full dinners to more than 500 people. The Center also links people in need with agencies that can provide job training, counseling, health insurance, drug rehabilitation, advocacy for veterans, and other services. The guiding light of Response to Love is Sr. Johnice Rzadkiewicz (who now is an RSVP volunteer too!). Sr. Johnice's energy goes in many directions, from writing grants and finding donations of food and clothing, to inspiring new volunteers to join in the work, to reaching out to a young mother in the neighborhood who had no warm clothing or adequate shelter for herself and her baby. I recently visited Response to Love and spoke with several RSVP volunteers about their service. Pat Kowalski provided a warm reception at the front desk for walk-in guests and incoming telephone calls. Esther Luke assisted people with applications for the toys to be distributed by the News Neediest Fund. Her husband, Casey Luke, and another volunteer, Art Tomczak, helped Fran Zalewski to clean up the kitchen after serving lunch for 211 guests. Sr. Rose Szymanski and Sr. Catherine Raczkowski assisted customers in the thrift shop with purchases of clothing, household items, and even holiday decorations. Esther and Casey Luke started volunteering at Response to Love in 1991 after Sr. Johnice extended a personal invitation to them to join in the work. "There is so much faith here," said Esther. The volunteers feel that they are enriched by the experience of assisting those in need. They gain in compassion. They come to a better understanding of poverty. They learn more about people from other cultural and ethnic groups. As I was leaving the kitchen, one of the guests brought Fran his empty plate. "Thanks, Fran. That was delicious." She smiled and said, "That's what makes me feel really good."
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