July E-Newsletter

On Saturday, June 29th, St. Peter's Kitchen held a grand opening for our new Saturday programs, and our big day went off without a hitch! We were so happy to have many special guests with us to celebrate: Rochester's mayor Malik Evans, Mitch Gruber from Foodlink, a long-time community partner, Mike Weston from His Branches, our new telehealth partner, and Melissa Geska from US Ceiling, who donated our renovated telehealth room! We're so happy to have shared this day with so many of our supporters, volunteers, and community partners. During our first Saturday lunch, we served more than 150 meals to our community, and several working families have come in during our Saturday pantry hours to get the groceries they need.

During this ceremony, we also celebrated the opening of our telehealth room. What was just an office a few months ago, the "zen den" is now a quiet, tranquil, and homey place in which to relax. This room is open during our lunch program, so community members who are upset can take a moment and center themselves and find some peace. This room will also facilitate telehealth appointments; instead of having to go across the city to an appointment, someone could meet with a physician, specialist, or therapist virtually from the privacy and quiet of our room. Look at the transformation!

Before...

...and after!

We are so grateful for the many people who have worked so hard to make this growth possible. Amy Mincer, our director of pantry and social work, spearheaded the renovation and establishment of the telehealth room. Char Cordone, our director of food and beverage, and Ann Windes, our new assistant kitchen manager, regularly work on Saturdays to make sure that our new programs are getting a good and solid start.

Everything St. Peter's does is feasible because we do it together; people power is our best resource! We still need volunteers to keep these programs going strong. 

If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering with us on Saturdays, please contact Amy.

Sign-ups are live for our 8th Annual Golf Tournament! On September 6th at Eagle Vale Golf Club, we're hosting a golf tournament complete with breakfast, lunch, a silent auction, prizes, and a hole-in-one contest, and you'd love to see you there! Click here or click on the infographics below to learn more and to sign up.

After completing my AmeriCorps requirement of working 1,700 hours at St. Peter's, my year of service is just about over! It's been a whirlwind of a year, and I'm so grateful for this experience and for being a part of SPK's community. Now, I'm off to Kent State to pursue a master's in creative writing with the Northeast Ohio MFA program. Thank you for an incredible year! 

-Julia Cilano

We have been blessed to have Julia with us this past year, her calm presence and ability to jump in where needed was very beneficial with all the change that has occurred this year. I have seen her grow and develop her skills. I wish her continued success!

-Bob Boyd