John Tumino

We met our dear friend in May of 2019 homeless living on the streets and addicted. We were able to connect him into housing the end of 2020 but unfortunately he did not want to deal with his addiction. We were able to connect him to drug court so that he could work a program and upon completion all charges would be dropped. Unfortunately our friend did not complete the program and was picked up for violation of drug court rules. Addiction is real life tough stuff to deal with but one of the things we have learned at IMFK is that we can not want sobriety more than our friends. They must want change and white knuckling or avoiding it will not change the situation. For our dear friend now is the time to face his demons while he serves a 2 year sentence. In the letter he writes that he is on meds to assist him with his heroine addiction and he also has started taking some meds for his mental health issues. When our friends go into incarceration or long term rehabs we make sure we correspond with them continually so that when they come back into society we can continue the work of assisting them in their needs. We continual write them and encourage them through the Good the Bad and the Ugly. Together Sous Chefs we are Building Hope and Changing Lives. If you would like to drop a note of encouragement to our friend please mail them to 

IMFK, PO BOX 11328 Syracuse NY 13218

John

Big shout out to Thermo Fisher Scientific for partnering with us by supplying us Back Packs fully loaded for our Homeless Friends. Their Mission for the community is a beautiful thing!

Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or increasing productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them.

Being able to partner with companies like this shows us that our community is truly civic minded. On behalf of all our friends on the streets of Syracuse, Thank You. 

John

Saturday March 13th should have been the St. Patrick’s Day Parade but due to the Pandemic it was canceled for the 2nd straight year. John Tumino from IMFK was nominated for the 2020 Gael of the year. The Gael is usually someone of non Irish decent that is honored during the Parade for their philanthropic work in the community. Mayor Ben Walsh was in attendance to show his support and took the time to meet and shake hands with Kevin and K-Dog. The Mayor encouraged them with their turn around in life and told them to keep moving forward. To be able to be honored as the Gael is very humbling but what I have received from this honor is that by seeing me and the work we do the Parade Committee is saying they see our Homeless friends. Whatever we can do to bring awareness to the Mission of IMFK goes without question. To shine a light on the challenges of homeless goes a long way in bringing understanding and compassion  to our friends. Thank you to the Parade Committee for acknowledging our Mission.

John

What a great Day for our crew as they were able to assist Onondaga County and the Mets organization by preparing the stadium for opening Day! Sometimes we take things for granted like a Triple A Club right here in town. The crew was in awe of the facility and some have never even been to a game as well as never even being in a Stadium like this. One of our goals is to be able to give our participants a sense of normalcy a break from the issues they are facing whether it is addiction, mental health concerns or homelessness. Yes they get paid at the end of the day and yes a deep dive of engagement is done but the one major goal is building relationships that establish trust. Once they trust us the Story behind the cardboard sign comes out. One day a week is committed to working with Onondaga County, here is a note we received regarding last years engagement.

Good Morning !!

I have work up the numbers for trash collection for the 2020 season.
We all had a slow start due to COVID-19 as such we started working with HIRE Ground on June 26, 2020.
Picked up a total of 202 bags of trash 55 gallons x 202 = 11,110 gallons or 55 cubic yards, and 83 Medical syringes and needles.

Looking forward to 2021 season.
Thanks,
Phil 

Isn’t that awesome, what a wondaful acknowledgement of the work that are crews are doing. Just think some said in the early days of Hire Ground, Homeless folks and Panhandlers would not want to work. Well I guess our crews say Different. Thank you everyone for your continued encouragement and support.   

Elena is at it again, dropping off another $387 collected from her Pickle stand! To date Elena has raised $1500 to support the Mission of IMFK. It is so refreshing to see the next generation of young people wanting to make a difference in their communities. Mom and Dad you should be very proud of this little one, her willingness to serve is a testimony to your dedication in allowing Elena to follow her heart. Thank you for raising a community minded person! Elena on behalf of all our friends outdoors experiencing homelessness we say thank you. A Child Shall Lead Them