Thanksgiving meals are about more than the family gathering and heaping dishes of food for God’s Love We Deliver.
The organization focuses on “improving the health and well-being of men, women and children living with serious illnesses by alleviating hunger and malnutrition,” according to their mission statement.
Their service to the metro New York area may seem vast, but for Morrisania resident, Charles Bell, their service over the last two years has meant more than words can really describe.
“I’m a strong believer in God, and God’s Love has brought the theory of God to reality and to my life with their tender, love and care that they’ve demonstrated each and every day to me,” Bell said. “Whoever named it God’s Love had to be a genius.”
Bell is a Vietnam War veteran whose medical conditions now keep him almost completely disabled.
Before he was introduced to the organization, Thanksgiving was not a holiday Bell celebrated because he lives by himself.
Thanksgiving meal deliveries are only a small part of the deliveries the organization makes, as they craft and cater over seven thousand meals every week throughout the year to the specific medical conditions and needs their clients are facing, free of charge.
However, the gesture has been most welcomed by Bell who said he had basically been twiddling his thumbs through the holiday.
“It’s meant a life of liberty and a pursuit of happiness,” Bell said of what the organization means to him.
The holiday season can either be rewarding or a reminder of loneliness for many who are not able to spend time with family or friends.
Although he is not able to be with his family during Thanksgiving, Bell noted he speaks with his family on a very regular basis
Bell lived in Bulgaria before he moved to the Bronx, and now spends most of his time in his apartment because of his congestive heart failure and diabetes.
“I live alone but I’m not lonely,” Bell mentioned in a statement to the organization. “If I didn’t have you (God’s Love) I would have no other option.”
He only leaves his home to go to the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in Kingsbridge. It was through Bell’s VA social worker he was introduced to God’s Love We Deliver.
More than 25-percent of God’s Love clients are from the Bronx but about ten percent of all their clients are veterans. Bell is one of the organization’s regular clients.
“God’s Love greets me twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday,” Bell added. “I’m very appreciative for all the services that I’ve received.”
God’s Love was founded in 1985 and has since delivered over 20-million meals through all five boroughs, Westchester, Nassau and Hudson counties.
Aside from delivering special meals on Thanksgiving, God’s Love We Deliver also crafts Christmas meals for their clients in December.
