January 20, 2015

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Citymeals joined hundreds of organizations throughout the country in celebrating the Day of Service.

On Monday, eighteen employees from Fino Consulting met at University Settlement Nutrition Program on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to volunteer with Citymeals. The volunteers – all under the age of 40 – hand-delivered 120 nutritious meals to their homebound elderly neighbors and spent some time with each of them to help brighten their day. Among the recipients were 92-year-old Wladymira and 86-year-old Brunhilde.

Executive Director Beth Shapiro explained, "As Dr. King said, ‘Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.’ The work our volunteers from Fino are doing today reflects the deep commitment Dr. King had to the giving of oneself in the service of others. Today, on this Day of Service, we are reminded of the importance of giving back and are so grateful to Fino Consulting for helping our most vulnerable neighbors feel special and important."

"Fino understands the importance of serving others and so volunteering with Citymeals-on-Wheels fits right in with the values and culture of our organization," said Richard Fye, Head of People Operations at Fino Consulting.

To prepare frail aged New Yorkers for the long weekend, Citymeals funded the preparation and delivery of 16,440 holiday boxes – each containing three shelf-stable meals – that were delivered in advance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Earlier this month, members of our Young Professionals Committee gathered at our office to assemble 170 of these packages.