Food4Friends

Your generous Food4Friends contributions will impact many this season and beyond.

Give the gift of HOPE this year through donating to and supporting Food4Friends.

Help us...Feed Hunger,  Feed Hope.

100% of every donation feeds HOPE:
♡ For the unsheltered/homeless
♡ For children & families
♡ For animals

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WHERE THE MONEY RAISED WILL GO:
The three not-for-profit locations in Philadelphia are:

1) The Sarnelli Community House, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA
Video: https://youtu.be/vd6AjCG1v7c

Their Mission: Blessed Sarnelli House is a Kensington based mission dedicated to providing for the needs of people who are poor and abandoned with an emphasis on empowering young adults to share in this commitment through prayer, service, and hospitality.   Their mission of “living faith, sharing love, being hope.” Meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered throughout the week. Street outreach, offering compassion, clothing and food is given for “people who are poor and abandoned.”

Every Donation:
♡ Helps them to continue to purchase, prepare, and serve over 800 meals a week.
♡ Supports their clothing and necessity services which is open to those in need several days a week.
♡ Supports their outreach, hospitality efforts, housing repairs, and operating costs. 

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2) Community Center at Visitation: Kensington, Philadelphia, PA.                 
Website: www.communitycenteratvis.org 
Video: https://youtu.be/SSiWdEEZnMw

Their Mission: Community Center at Visitation (CCV), guided by the strength and resilience of our neighbors, provides a welcoming community space for Kensington residents to build meaningful connections and access resources to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.  We plan to do this by celebrating and growing the community through regularly scheduled events such as community dinners, holiday festivals and educational workshops. Through the input of our community, we will offer quality resources such as healthy food, tutoring, professional development training and recreational activities. Lastly, we will collaborate with local partners to streamline access to and avoid duplication of services.

Every Donation:
♡ Funds programs like their Women’s Monthly Program, Weekly Health Wellness clinics, English Classes, and Legal Services appointments 
♡ Supports their Fresh Food Pantry services
♡ Support CCV’s Child Scholar’s Program for the Visitation BVM school.
Donate - $3,700.00 per year (1-Child)  
Currently there are 17 students receiving scholarships and their goal is 30 students.
♡ Support CCV’s BVM students with their uniform.
Donate $200.00 for 1 Uniform/1 Child
♡ Support a Family Dinner Night at CCV.  This is a free event offered to the community and residents of Kensington.  It’s a family-styled dinner that includes the best local food, group activities, and games, and more fun.  It’s an evening held once a month that allows families to bring their children and friends.
♡Donate - $500.00 which covers food, activity supplies, and other resources needed for the event.

This season, CCV is specifically in need of the below contribution:
FOOD PANTRY
·      $1K  Support the food pantry's operations for two to three weeks providing weekly food distribution to 50+ residents and families; $5K - Support the food pantry's operations for one quarter of the year, providing weekly food distribution to 50+ residents and families for 13 weeks; $10K - Support half of the food pantry's operating costs in the 2022 fiscal year, providing weekly food distribution to 50+ residents and families for 26 weeks .
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
·      $3,700 ~ sponsor a child’s annual tuition to attend Visitation BVM and participate in the CCV Scholar’s Program
·      $150 ~ sponsor a child’s uniform
·      $70 ~ sponsor a student’s monthly participation in the after-school program 
·      $560 ~ sponsor a student’s annual participating in the after-school program    
 WOMEN’S PROGRAM
·      $400 ~ average cost for transportation for a field trip
·      $250 ~ Support lunch for our women’s program
FAMILY DINNER NIGHTS & SPECIAL EVENTS
·      $20 ~ support the dinner for a family of 4 
·      $25 ~ provide a gift-card to our Bingo winner!
·      $500 ~ sponsor the purchase of a local business providing the meal for family night dinner
ADULT EDUCATION
·      $129 ~ sponsor a student to take a Kaplan, GED test-prep course
·      $120 ~ sponsor a student to take their GED test

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3) Ray of Light Farm:  East Haddam, CT, www.rayoflightfarm.org

Their Mission:
The Ray of Light Farm is a non-profit charity with a 25 year legacy of providing animal rescue, veternary medical care, food, long term shelter, for numerous species ranging from horses, ponies, donkeys, pigs, ostriches, tortoises, geese, guinea pigs and others.   
Horses and ponies lovingly and therapeutically assist less able bodied program participants. A veterans program has been running for five years to promote emotional well-being for veterans and first responders through a connection with rescue horses. Small animal assisted therapy is also included and assists with mental health and wellness and recovery from PTSD.

Every Donation:
♡ Helps feed, fully care, and rehabilitate their animals .
♡ Supports a new pasture project for extended habitat for the animals.
♡ Supports programs like The Veterans Therapeutic Equine Groups,  Angel Club, and many others. 


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HOW THE MONEY RAISED WILL BE DISTRIBUTED:
At the two centers in Philadelphia our medical mission sisters (Marisol, Barbara Ann, Rose Theresa, Maria and Lucy) have been deeply involved over time, and are preparing and serving meals daily, and assisting in many hands-on ways. 

The funds raised from this GoFundMe will go directly to them to be distributed among the three centers within this very marginalized area in Philadelphia.  100% of the money will be used for feeding, clothing, and serving those who are homeless and alone.  (No money will be used for administrative expenses.)

Funds raised will also be sent to Bonnie at Ray of Light farm where 100% of that money will be used for serving the needs of the many abandoned animals. (No money will be used for administrative expenses.)

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ABOUT THE FOOD4FRIENDS VISIONARY:

My name is Theresa O’Connor RN, MSN, and I have been a nurse, holistic psychotherapist and coach, and energy practitioner in Philadelphia PA for over 30 years.   www.toconnorassociates.com

For 25 years, I have been an associate member of the community of Medical Mission Sisters and Associates, an international group of women and men on six continents, compassionately serving the poor and marginalized.  www.medicalmissionsisters.org.  Medical Mission Sisters and Associates are nurses, physicians, holistic health practitioners, teachers, midwives, lawyers, counselors, activists and community organizers committed to being a healing presence within our world.

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 MEET MY GO FUND ME FRIENDS and TEAMMATES:

My teammates for this Go Fund Me are perhaps unusual, as they include multi-dimensional helpers - those assisting on the physical human level and those also assisting from a non-physical spiritual level.

In my personal and professional lives, I work closely with non-physical guides, helpers, light-beings, angels and associates. The name of my holistic coaching and energy practitioner business is O’Connor and Associates, and my “associates” are light-beings and are not in physical bodies. We have been successfully collaborating and serving thousands for over 30 years. They are the ones who gave me the idea/guidance to do this Go Fund Me.

My human collaborators, teammates and friends in this GoFundMe experience are my professional colleague and friend, Danielle, and her daughter Skyla, 12 years old.


Sister Marisol preparing hundreds of meals to serve to those without homes.

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Our other location serves our 4-legged homeless and abandoned inter-species sisters and brothers at the Ray of Light Farm, in East Haddam, CT, founded and operated by one of our medical mission sister associate members of 25 years, Bonnie Buongiorne. 

Here is a picture of Bonnie with one of her rescue animals.




WILL YOU PLEASE PARTICIPATE WITH US IN THIS GO FUND ME 
WITH A ONE TIME OR REPEATED DONATION?

Other ways to serve and give:

1) Contribute food or money to your local food pantries
2) Prepare food and bring it to someone who lives alone, along with a “safe visit” (following guidelines)
3) Pray for the many who are struggling to feed their children and for federal, and local resources and funding to be made available for as long as needed
4) Offer to buy clothes and gifts for families with children of all ages
5) Write cards and letters to those without family members in their lives
6) Become a monthly donor to your favorite non-profit organizations
7) Buy a coffee and a meal for a homeless person you meet, and maybe even  give them your gloves and scarf
8) Check out the physical and emotional health and social benefits of being generous, of donating and giving back, of philanthropy, volunteering and being compassionate (see links below)
9) Remember that “We Are Family”, Youtube video below:
https://youtu.be/uyGY2NfYpeE
 10)  ______________________________ (please add here what you will do, or are doing, and we will add it to the list and share it with our Go Fund Me community). Examples) “I am sending this Go Fund Me request out to 10 friends and colleagues.” “I will be the change I seek!”

Links to Giving:
https://www.merceradvisors.com/insights/financial-planning/the-benefits-of-charitable-giving/
https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/do-things-for-others
https://www.moneycrashers.com/benefits-charitable-giving-donations/

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A Prayer Among Friends
By John Daniel

We are alive with one another, 
and we live here in the light of this 
world that isn’t ours for long.
May we spend generously the time we are given.
May we enact our responsibilities and seek a vision
that serves all beings.
May we hold in our hands
the gift of good works
for this one Earth, 
this Homeland we all love.


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Thank you for reading, sharing, and responding to this GoFundMe. We will keep you posted about the many amazing ways your gifts are shared. That which you give, will also be given to you! This is called “the boomerang effect.”

I/we send you gratitude and love,  
Theresa, Danielle, and all of our team-mates