Published in the Olean Times Herald on Friday, November 3, 2017
ST. BONAVENTURE — The Warming House, St.
Bonaventure University’s
student-run soup kitchen
in Olean, has received
a $4,104 grant from
the Dr. Lyle F. Renodin
Foundation.
The money will be used to purchase healthy and nutritious food, cleaning and food service supplies and to fund an appreciation dinner, said Jeffrey Sved, director of SBU’s Franciscan Center for Social Concern. The Warming House is under the FCSC umbrella.
“The Warming House is a special place that will continue to thrive with this
grant,” said graduate student D.J. Mitchell, program manager for the Warming
House. “There is a community in that building that comes for more than just the nourishment. The Franciscan values that St. Bonaventure holds proud
are on display Sunday through Friday in Olean and we are thrilled to sustain
it for years to come.”
The grant application specified $3,000 for healthy food, $1,000 for supplies —
“since a clean facility is a welcoming one,” Sved said — and $104 for a year-end dinner to recognize the student meal coordinators.
Why $104?
“The number is meant to remind of us of St. Francis, whose feast is celebrated
on that day (10/4) and in whose footsteps we live and serve,” Sved said.
The Warming House is hosting the Food Bank of WNY’s “Just Say Yes” workshops this semester to promote healthier eating, and SBU senior Alexa
Zak’s honors project is aimed at teaching the Warming House community
the importance of nutrition by demonstrating simple yet effective ways to
live healthier.
“My hope for the project is to raise nutrition awareness and provide a foundation for the Warming House community to continue to make healthy lifestyle changes,” Zak said.
The Renodin Foundation provides grants for programs and projects whose
public charitable purposes are carried out in a manner consistent with the tradition of the Franciscan Sisters. Grant awards show a connection to the mission of the Foundation and assist the needy, underprivileged, elderly, developmentally disabled, handicapped, or economically disadvantaged.
The foundation is attentive to the religious tradition and pastoral mission
of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and committed to the Gospel stance of social justice, which is lived out in a spirit of love, healing and compassion.
The foundation focuses its energy and resources primarily in the Twin Tiers
and strives to improve the quality of life of the region’s poor and marginalized
neighbors.
Pictured: Warming House volunteers Hayley Laraway, Tyler Eisenhauer and D.J. Mitchell (back right), SBU student manager of the Olean soup kitchen, are
joined by Laura Whitford, president of the Renodin Foundation, and Sr. Marigene Kennedy of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany.
