explained their presence in different ways.

“Why do I come here on Thanksgiving,” Sloan’s Jim Raczkowski, a drummer with the polka band, CitySide, rhetorically inquired. “I come because this is a warm environment, a wonderful place to be in Thanksgiving in which you have the chance to get away from just worrying about your self and do something to help others.”

Continued pg 2.      

     By Glenn Gramigna

 It was 9:30 am on a bright Thanksgiving morning and already dozens of smiling, bright eyed volunteers were assembling in the basement of the Response to Love Center . They came from all parts of the area and from every religious background. Yet, they were united by a single goal: To band together as one to feed the poor and hungry of the east side on one of the most festive days of the year.

Sure these people could have stayed in their warm and comfortable homes, there to concentrate on basting their own Thanksgiving turkeys and doling out their own cranberry sauce. Yet, these good hearted folks had chosen to venture out, whether Christian or Jew, suburbanite or city dweller, because they found themselves touched by the same silent cry for help which has animated Center Director Sister Johnice all her life.

“There are so many people who just don’t have any family to celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving with,” Sister Johnice points out. “Or else they just don’t have the money for a good Thanksgiving dinner. So many of our volunteers feel they

have been blessed by God and now they want to share those blessings with others who haven’t been so fortunate.” Actually, the hard work began on the day before Thanksgiving when a handful of volunteers pitched in for “Carving Day,” the morning when some 65 turkeys are sliced up in preparation for the big day.   Noah Rifkin, a member of the Jewish faith from Williamsville, explained his participation in both events this way: “We have a phrase in our religion, ‘Tikun Ulam,’ which means ‘Heal the World.’ It’s a duty we all have. Both my wife, Roberta and I are here because we want to fulfill that duty and this is an excellent way to do it.:

Back in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning, the Center’s every day cook, Fran Zalewski, seemed to be everywhere, assisted every step of the way by her 85 year old husband, Ted.

“I like to help out because it’s a chance to work with and meet a lot of wonderful people while doing God’s work,” he said, looking every bit as energetic as he must have as a soldier in the South Pacific during World War II. Others

The REAL Spirit of the Season

Thanksgiving at the Response to Love Center

Response To Love Center Newsletter

RTLC News

Response To Love Center

Winter 2006

Volume1 Issue2

Special points of interest:

· Real Spirit of the Season

· From the Director

· Volunteer Appeal

· October Storm Update

Kevin O’Connell, Most Rev. Bishop Edward Kmiec at Thanksgiving Meal at Response To Love Center 2006