8 minute read
Hope on the Hudson
WHO WE ARE | FAITH IN ACTION
It’s still the go–to place to get a free turkey at Thanksgiving and toys for Christmas. You also can stop by during the week and pick up a lunch and a food box, all served with a warm smile from a caring staff of volunteers.
Housed in a non–descript building in the heart of Hudson, N.Y., the remnants of a former church are still visible here, if you look closely. Where the pulpit once stood is now the entrance to a food storage closet. A simple cross adorns a wall that is stacked to the ceiling with food boxes. From a back office, a wall–hanging that depicts Jesus Christ overlooks the whole operation.
The building hasn’t been a church for about a decade, but The Salvation Army Service Center still retains a huge presence in this rural community along the Hudson River in upstate New York. The center has its own advisory board and performs most functions that a Salvation Army church would, except worship services. Service centers are located in mostly suburban and rural areas (see page 7).
“We engage the community and try to spread a little love, a little joy, a little hope, and a little Jesus, every day,” says Barbie Rodriguez, the center’s assistant director.
Cooks Judy Weinman and Dawn Bucci prepare the daily lunch boxes for pickup.
Center Director Darcy Connor oversees the operation with 18 volunteers, who maintain staggered work schedules.
The center serves lunch on weekdays and distributes food boxes twice a week. Besides Thanksgiving and Christmas distributions, the volunteers also give away hams at Easter and backpacks of food when kids go to school in the fall.
Dedicated to the task
During COVID–19, when some recipients couldn’t get into town, the volunteers started “Hope on Wheels” and took food to rural areas and trailer parks.
“We’re going to underserved areas where people can’t get to our food pantry so we’re taking the food to them,” Connor said. “We do a lot to stay involved in the community.”
The volunteers, who all live in the Hudson area, toil without complaint and handle their duties with aplomb. They dodge boxes in a small space that is crammed with food. People pick up vegetables, bread, and other goods on a table in front of the building.
“There’s good energy here,” Connor said. “People want to do this job. They want to volunteer here because they know it’s such good work. I feel so blessed to have all of these people around me who are committed to our mission, and they do it with so much love.
“I have a different cook every day of the week and they’re all people who are committed to our community and committed to do good with The Salvation Army. It’s awesome.”
Center Director Darcy Connor and assistant Barbie Rodriguez unload food boxes.
One of the more loyal volunteers is 81– year–old Charlie Proper, who lives a block away from the center and has been volunteering for 12 years. He shows up five days a week and “works harder than anyone I have ever seen,” Connor said.
Proper, who formerly worked for two different department stores before retiring, says he does “a little bit of everything,” including packing food boxes and helping with “Hope on Wheels.”
“I figure it’s a good cause and we’ve got a good group of volunteers here,” he said. “It all blends together. I just want to help people. We do a lot here. It’s a small place but we get a lot done.”
All in this together
Proper is a lifelong bachelor and most of his family members are gone. He knows he could retire and lead the easy life, but his parents taught him to work hard. Today, he’s still going strong.
Proper said of his volunteering, “If it helps people get food, why not? It makes me feel good.”
—Charlie Proper, volunteer (pictured above)
The first person to arrive in the morning is usually volunteer Debra Kelsey. She shows up at 5:30 a.m., two days a week, to sort and pack the food and get it ready for the day.
“I’m an early bird, so it’s OK,” she says good–naturedly. “I just enjoy it. It’s rewarding. We have a nice group that volunteers. It’s nice camaraderie.”
Kelsey attends a nearby Catholic church and said her faith is a motivator. She enjoys hooking people up with support, such as seniors, domestic violence victims, and others.
“It all comes down to service and giving back to your community—monetary–wise, time–wise, and friendship–wise,” she says. “We get to know our neighbors by doing this. We know their likes, their dislikes, and their families. Sometimes we can hook them up with some help.”
Kelsey met Connor 20 years ago. Today, her comments give voice to the close–knit nature of the volunteers and staff. “It’s very much a family affair,” she said. Rodriguez added, “Everyone who comes here, it’s like they were hand–picked. Everybody’s personality is so different, but it just works. It’s amazing.”
That’s certainly true for Dawn Bucci and Judy Weinman, volunteer cooks who went to kindergarten together, graduated high school together, and now cook together every Wednesday at the service center.
A community in need
Bucci met Connor several years ago when she ran the food pantry at Columbia–Greene Community College in Hudson. Now she’s a regular with The Salvation Army.
Bucci said, “I like to cook, and I like to help people. The community needs it.
“I was brought up to help others,” she says. “I feel fortunate in my life, so if I can help someone walk away from here with food in their belly, I’m happy.”
Weinman, who owns All Aboard Travel in Hudson and attends a local Dutch Reformed church, said her husband, Bob, urged her to volunteer at The Salvation Army when the travel industry slowed due to COVID–19. He serves on the service center’s advisory board.
For the past year, Weinman has helped cook lunch every Wednesday and has volunteered for the last 15 years or so at The Salvation Army.
“There’s a community need,” she said. “Anybody who has the opportunity to spend even one day here will realize how much need there is and would want to help out.”
The volunteers say the Hudson area has some homeless people, but many clients are seniors and struggling families who are just trying to make ends meet. The area is also home to two state prisons. Newly released inmates often come by for food and clothing vouchers.
Connor said rents in the small, artsy community are “astronomical.”
—Dawn Bucci, volunteer (pictured above)
“If they have to spend money on rent, they don’t have a lot of extra money, so they come to us for food,” Connor said. “The pandemic also hit some people hard.”
That need helped lead Rodriguez, a former pre–school teacher and mother of eight, to the center as a volunteer last summer. Rodriguez often saw children come to school with no lunch or in dirty clothes and wanted to be more involved. She calls her eventual hiring “Holy Spirit–led.”
“I wanted to give back. I looked online, came here, volunteered, and loved it,” says Rodriguez, who attends an Assembly of God church and hopes to lead a Bible study at the center. “When I returned to my full–time job as a preschool teacher, it wasn’t as fulfilling. I prayed about it for a job to open up.”
Yielding to the Spirit
In January, a full–time position opened up, and Rodriguez likes using her spiritual gifts on the job. She asks to pray with people when she feels they may have spiritual needs.
“Whatever I feel the Lord is telling me, I will tell them,” she says. “The Holy Spirit lets me know who would be receptive. What fulfills me is being obedient to the Lord.”
The motivation is similar for Connor, who is beloved by her volunteers and formerly served on the advisory board when the service center was a full–fledged Salvation Army church. When the church became a service center, she longed to be the director someday and came on board six years ago.
“I said, ‘I would love that job because I love what they do and what they represent.’ I am a Christian and it’s in my heart. I’m doing this because of my love of God. I love people and I want to help people,” said Connor, who formerly attended a local Reformed church.
Debra Kelsey sorts bread for the daily food table at the service center in Hudson, N.Y.
“God has been good to me and I’m driven to do this for God.”
During COVID–19, the center did more than deliver food to rural areas that lacked transportation or nearby grocery stores. The center also served as a vaccination site. It’s just another way Connor likes to stay connected to the community in the absence of a church.
“We do so much here, and I want everyone to know how much we do,” she said. “The only thing we don’t have is the church service, but I pray every day for our people and Barbie will pray with people. We’re both spiritual, so this is perfect for us.
“I’m not a Salvationist, a soldier, a captain or anything, but I am so committed to God and so committed to this work. It’s the best of both worlds for me. All of us are so happy to be here and happy to help people.”
by ROBERT MITCHELL
