Reflections on the Way to Work

          In the glitter, hustle and bustle of Times Square, as the tourists parade up and down Broadway mesmerized by billboard lights, there sits a historic landmark building on West 43rd Street with a two-story lobby that has been restored to its former grandeur and is easily overlooked despite the fact that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Maybe more important than its landmark status is the fact that today, the building is the largest permanent supportive housing residence in the nation. The building on W. 43rd Street is Breaking Ground’s flagship supportive housing residence. The building was acquired in 1991 and was a former grand hotel that had fallen into disrepair and was crime ridden. The transformation of the building contributed to the revitalization of the Time Square neighborhood, but more importantly it demonstrated a new approach to ending long-term urban homelessness.  The building now provides permanent affordable housing for low-income and formerly homeless adults, persons with serious mental illness and persons living with HIV/AIDS.  I have walked by it throughout my life never paying it any attention until last month when I had the privilege and honor to deliver meals as part of the Citymeals on Wheels program.

       On a brisk fall day, my colleague Aisha and I met the JPMorgan Good Works [1] Volunteer Team to volunteer with Citymeals on Wheels, which provides a continuous lifeline of nourishing meals and vital companionship to home bound elderly neighbors. Our meeting point was at St. Malachy, which, again, is easily missed. I first went up the stairs of the church and couldn’t find the JPMorgan team but after getting some friendly help I went to the entrance next door and took the elevator down.

          Before going any further, I would be remiss if I didn’t also say a word or two about St. Malachy which is located on W. 49th St. between Broadway and Eighth Avenue and has its own historic transformation that is noteworthy. It is another example of incredible architecture that is easily missed when walking down the street. The inside of the church is beautiful, peaceful and quiet and well worth a look when you are in that area. It became famous as a haven of worship for the entertainment community. In ’70s as Times Square area fell into decay much of the parish’s congregation moved away except the elderly and poor. In 1976, Father George Moore was assigned to the church and he created a pastoral team concept which included not only priests and sisters, but also a group of caring men and women of all faiths. Their mission was to renew the long tradition of St. Malachy’s ministering to people in the neighborhood.  One of the accomplishments of their efforts in 1977 was the establishment of Encore Community Services to serve the needs of senior citizens. It’s simple purpose, to improve the quality of life of the elderly living in the Times Square/Clinton/Midtown communities, Encore provides seniors with healthy meals, shopping escorts and social events.

       Back to our Good Works volunteer efforts. As I took the elevator down to meet the volunteer team, the elevator doors opened and I was greeted by a a large seating area, almost like a high school caféteria with long tables and chairs filled with diverse individuals, representative of New York City’s residents.  To the left is an open kitchen with men and women busy preparing meals and in the back is a little market, not yet opened for the day with different clothing items available for purchase. The environment is warm, friendly and welcoming. It is a meeting place for local seniors to share a meal, a conversation, and the warmth of human interaction. A moment to not feel alone, in a city where loneliness is easily felt.

        In the back, a group of eager JPMorgan volunteers waited for their assignment to begin, some experienced with Citymeals, and others who were newbies.   The volunteers, some who knew each other, but most were JPMorgan employees from all different parts of the organization who didn’t know each other but came together for a shared, common purpose. Aisha and I teamed up as one of the pairs to deliver the meals. We had a short briefing, then received our assignments, which included the building and apartment numbers and resident names to visit. We were given the rolling carts with separate insulated bags one containing the hot meals, and the other, the cold meals. In addition, given that inclement weather was fast approaching, we also had boxes to deliver so that the residents would have a meal on hand in the event that a snow filled day prevented a Citymeal delivery.

         So, off we went, up the elevator and onto Broadway, which was very crowded and full of tourists. As we navigated our way down to 43rd Street on foot, we finally arrived at our destination. And yes, we did bump a few people and had overturned carts every now and then as we tried to maneuver the carts on a less than perfect, cracked sidewalk! Most of the people we bumped enroute appeared to be tourists or regulars in the area familiar with the delivery so they were nice about it! When we arrived at our destination we were greeted by friendly residents gathering in the lobby, a lobby that is amazingly beautiful. After checking through security, we started on the highest floor assigned and worked our way down. It is a huge building that appeared to be well maintained and spic and span clean. There are many apartments and until we got the layout of the building, we typically went in the wrong direction on the floor.   Citymeals on Wheels delivery is no stranger to the residents. In fact, they seem to know exactly when we would be arriving and assisted in directing us where to go on the floor. Workmen were busy cleaning the hallways and social workers were busy on each floor in assisting their many assigned residents.

         The rooms that the residents live in would remind you of a college dormitory room, small, but it included all the essentials needed – bathroom, hot stove, bed, and a small seating area. As each resident opened their door to accept the meal, through the crack of the door, you had a brief glimpse of their life. Each person’s room was a reflection of who they are – a former Navy person whose room was impeccably clean and neat, the corners of his bed, perfectly made, very much like you would imagine a midshipman’s bed on a Navy aircraft carrier to look like; others had extensive belongings that they couldn’t maneuver well in their room; and others had cats to keep them company. Some were sick and not very mobile, and others, mobile and out and about. Some were long time residents looking out for each other and making sure that we did not forget their friend and neighbor.  The residents are a beautiful mosaic that is reflective of the residents in the city we live and work in.

         It was one of the most humbling experiences. I have written before about the financial crisis and how, overnight, you could go from living a dream to being homeless. It can sometimes be a fine line that puts you on one side or the other. It is once again a reminder that we should never take what we have for granted. As we delivered the meals I thought about how appreciative people were to have a small apartment in NYC to call home and a warm meal delivered to them. The portions of the meals, while I am sure nutritionally designed and proportionately measured seemed relatively small to the size of portions we as Americans and eat.  The size of my pasta tastes when I am cooking amount to the size of the pasta portion in their meal. It made me realize how fortunate we are to have what we have, but it also made me more conscious to not be wasteful when eating, cooking or buying groceries.

          What was even more impactful was the fact that our visit may be the only visitors many of these individuals had for the day. Some of the residents are very frail and home bound and our visit warmed their souls and put a smile on their face. It equally warmed my heart. You could see it in their eyes and for me, it left a tremendous impact on me and inspired me to try and do more to help, even in a small way which is the impetus for this blog and and my idea for “52^ Cups in 2018” campaign.

            I thought about how much a cup of coffee or tea or a smoothie in NYC costs and if I could give up just one of these a week and donate that to Citymeals or a similar organization and spread the word, it collectively could be impactful. If on average, it costs $5.00 for a cup of coffee, tea or a smoothie and I give up a cup once a week, that would be approximately $260 a year. If I then inspired my 800+ LinkedIn contacts to do the same with each donating their one cup a week to their charity of choice to fight hunger, that would multiply the value to $208,000 donated collectively to help support support the effort; then,  if each of their LinkedIn contacts or other social media contacts did the same, it would just keep multiplying. A simple sacrifice of a beverage a week with each person spreading the word could exponentially go a long way in helping organizations like Citymeals on Wheels to help those in need of a warm meal.

        So, I decided as one my New Year’s Resolutions to start a campaign to raise awareness, and recruit others to to make it their resolution too – the resolution is to give up or give the value of one cup of a favorite beverage a week and donate the money to an organization of one’s choosing to help with feeding the hungry. I decided to call it the “52^ Cups in 2018” Campaign.

          As we celebrate the closing out of 2017 and bring in 2018, I ask you to join me in the “52^ Cups in 2018″ Campaign by spreading the word through your LinkedIn, Facebook or other Social Media forums. Together our individual cups are a very small sacrifice a week but collectively they can multiply and have a tremendous impact in assisting others with a warm meal.  So please join me in making”52^ Cups in 2018” one of your 2018 New Year’s Resolution too!

Thank you and Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2018!

[1] JPMorgan Good Works program engages JPMorgan employees in strategic volunteerism and workplace giving opportunities to address important local issues. It is designed to help strengthen communities.