Blog

Senators, Councilmen and the Hungry Band Together

Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrates a real Holy Thursday today, March 24, by sharing food and inspiration with New York City Council and Assembly members and, side-by-side, with those served by Catholic Charities Washington Heights Ecumenical Food Pantry.  NYC Council Members Ydanis Rodrigues and Mark Levine, NY State Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, NY State Senator Adriano Espaillat and, of course, Catholic Charities Executive Director Msgr. Kevin Sullivan were among many who joined the celebration.

Ever since Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples and transformed bread and wine, Holy Thursday has marked an historic day.

And celebration, despite hunger, poverty and need, filled the air at this special event. Cardinal Dolan noted that the Catholic Charities Feeding Our Neighbors Campaign raised 1,568,396 meals for the hungry thanks to generosity from donors like you.

"We need to feed the hungry in the name of Jesus, and that is a high honor and call,” Cardinal Dolan says.  “We need to make sure that none of our neighbors are ever turned away when they look to the church for help."

Yet severe need remains, particularly right here in Washington Heights where 1 out of 5 residents do not know where their next meal will come from.

Fortunately, the Washington Heights Ecumenical Food Pantry:

• Served 297,279 meals during the past year alone
• Served 33,031 individuals
• Children make up more than 1 in 5 hungry people served
• The elderly make up more than 1 in 3 hungry people served

On Holy Thursday, find out more about Cardinal Dolan and our Feeding Our Neighbors campaign.