This past week I had the anniversary of the day that I was born again. December 12, 2005, was a day that before it happened I would have thought was like any other during that time which was a very difficult and dark time in my life, but after God stepped in everything changed, and what had been darkness was given new light and new life. I've written about the testimony of that time before, so I won't go into the story of it now, but one thing that I started doing six months after that was helping in a soup kitchen on Manhattan's lower east side. When I first walked in the door to volunteer and I saw how awful the experience was for the people coming in and how terrible and unhealthy the food was, I heard the voice of God saying, "Only the best for my children," and I began the journey at that moment that has become a passion of my life, to help bring the best quality food possible to people everywhere, regardless of their background, income level, age or anything else that might keep them from having healthy, wholesome, delicious high quality food.
A few weeks ago I was introduced to Ron Tornari by David Meltzer at a an event he was hosting in Hoboken. Ron is the Founder of an organization named Chefs For Seniors that began as a way of providing older adults healthy and delicious meals cooked in-home by Chefs. After starting the organization, Ron understood how much need there is in communities of all ages and backgrounds, and so he started a not for profit to help provide meals and food for people who couldn't afford the service. The work he is doing aligns so closely with my Love & Plenty project that I've written about in these pages before, and so I kept in touch with him and suggested that we begin collaborating on events to help raise awareness and bring his services to Hoboken. This past week I scheduled an event with him that was in two parts, the first part at YES Gallery and the second at a private club nearby that was kind enough to let me use their space for the gallery event guests to share a meal. There were so many wonderful people that responded in so many wonderful ways, including some lovely press that I will write about in future weeks, but for now I want to share a very sweet moment that I videotaped on the night of the event when one of the visitors to the gallery, Joy the Founder of Be The Difference LLC, began interviewing guests about how they make a difference. It is something that she does as part of her brand's message and I had seen posts about some of the interviews she has created before, but it was a very unexpected and impromptu part of the evening. It had not been planned, but it seemed to flow beautifully with the energy and spirit that were in the space. So many people involved with YES Gallery are making a difference in their communities, and it was a lovely experience to have someone like the gorgeous Joy, who herself makes such a difference, document just how wonderful these wonderful people are.
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