John Tumino

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.

What a story of overcoming. We met our Dear friend John back in the early part of 2017, homeless addicted with no direction. We were able to Love on him, feed him and encourage him that there is a different way of living. We were able to get him on our Hire Ground work team where deeper engagement happens. From there he was able to secure housing and we were able to pay for him to get his driver’s permit.  With much-continued support from our IMFK care managers, john was able to maintain his housing and was reunited with his girlfriend and child. While working on our Hire Ground crew with the landbank John was able to show that he was ready for full-time employment. Last night we received this message from the Landbank team regarding John.

Gotta say thank you, Kevin (Hire Ground Supervisor) Working with Hire Ground and speaking with you, and knowing the mission of In My Fathers Kitchen has opened my heart and mind to help others. I have helped make John be a better person… I talked to Ed (owner) and told him I want to take a chance on John and as of Monday, he will be a full-time on-the-books employee… I have spent a lot of time mentoring John out of his bad ways. I have seen a lot of change in him since day one… He’s a good kid and I see a lot of potential in him… I’m gonna help him finish getting his driver’s license and help him stay on the right path… Glad I can make a difference in someone’s life… Thanks, Kevin for the opportunity to help change someone’s life!

Kenny

What an awesome story that true change can happen in someone’s life all it takes is a little encouragement a little Hope and a lot of footwork from our friends! Together Sous Chefs we are Building Hope and Changing Lives,

John and Leigh Ann