John Tumino

When serving our friends outdoors we are always giving out fresh socks (freshies) as they are called. The reason is that proper foot care is important when you are living outdoors or you may be newly housed and have no means of transportation other than walking. On average our friends walk about 30-50 miles each week getting themselves around town. When engaging our friends outdoors with Dr. Lehmann a common request is looking at someone’s feet because of discomfort and pain. Making House Calls at the street level is a vital part of bringing dignity to our friends that are suffering. Doc initiated an opportunity using med students that come out with us, a so-called foot clinic of sorts. When engaging someone on the streets who present with feet issues we would set up a time to meet them at IMFK to do a foot washing and any treatment that may be necessary. Well, this afternoon we set up an appointment with Joe. Joe worked on the Hire Ground van earlier that day and when his day was over Halie was able to wash Joe’s feet and then proceeded to cut his nails and treat a callus on the bottom of his foot. We will do whatever it takes to show someone dignity and value in the middle of their suffering. Thank you Doc for your continued compassionate care to our friends and thank you for training the next generation of physicians on what it really means to serve the less fortunate! Joe was so appreciative and thankful for the care he received, You Are Not Invisible our friend!

We received a message in the early part of February that the Character Club of Tully Elementary School selected us as an organization to collect items for. We sent the students the list of items and over the next two months, they collected everything on our list. We were able to go down and share with over 100 5th and 6th graders about the work we do at IMFK. At the end of the session we opened it up for questions and boy did we get questions. Student after student would raise their hands and ask the most profound questions. There were so many more students that had their hands raised but we didn’t have the time to respond. So we decided that the Character Club was going to field the rest of the questions and email them to us at IMFK for the responses. We love sharing with young people about the issue of homelessness, we believe that we are inspiring the next generation of thinkers! We believe planting seeds of concerns regarding homelessness into the consciousness of the younger generation will cause fruit in the future for servants that will make a bigger difference in the lives of those who feel invisible. At the end of our time, we were presented with all they had collected. Way to go Kids, a Child Shall Lead Them.

Hire Ground is a collaborative partnership with the County of Onondaga and is an IMFK outreach to the unemployed homeless and panhandlers in the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

The “Hire Ground” program gives panhandlers and the unemployed homeless in Syracuse and Onondaga County an opportunity for change in their lives by offering work experience through day labor and connections to needed support services.

Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the Hire Ground van picks up nine individuals at various locations throughout the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Once they complete the intake process the Hire Ground team transports our friends to job sites to work on beautification and other various projects. These projects include but are not limited to, picking up litter after a concert at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater, building picnic tables for the NY State Fair, and picking up trash from area parks and roadways.

n addition to working a five-hour shift and receiving a $50 stipend, Hire Ground feeds them breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the day and provides transportation back to the pickup locations. We have served over 450 panhandling individuals to receive A Hand Up, Not A Handout. Our Care Managers connect participants to service providers in the Housing Coalition of CNY, as well as the Department of Social Services. Without this collaborative effort, serving the needs of our participants would not be possible.

Can you say “Home Run”
Take Me out to the Ball Park, it’s opening day at Syracuse Mets. What an honor for In My Father’s Kitchen to be chosen as this year’s non profit to receive $$$$$$ for every home run by the Mets at the stadium!
Cheer on the team and every batter this year as they hit home run after home run with the purpose of assisting us in our Mission in CNY!
Please Consider joining this home run derby by making a donation to our Mission!

Thank You Now let’s Play Ball

Hire Ground is a collaborative partnership with the County of Onondaga and is an IMFK outreach to the unemployed homeless and pan-handlers in the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

The “Hire Ground” program gives panhandlers and the unemployed homeless in Syracuse and Onondaga County an opportunity for change in their lives by offering work experience through day labor and connections to needed support services.

Every Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, and Friday, the Hire Ground van picks up nine individuals at various locations throughout the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County. Once they complete the intake process the Hire Ground team transports our friends to job sites to work on beautification and other various projects. These projects include but are not limited to, picking up litter after a concert at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater, building picnic tables for the NY State Fair, and picking up trash from area parks and roadways.

In addition to working a five-hour shift and receiving a $50 stipend, Hire Ground feeds them breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the day and provides transportation back to the pickup locations. We have served over 450 panhandling individuals to receive A Hand Up, Not A Handout. Our Care Managers connect participants to service providers in the Housing Coalition of CNY, as well as the Department of Social Services. Without this collaborative effort, serving the needs of our participants would not be possible.