Nov. 24, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - On Wednesday, St. John's head coach Kim Barnes Arico members of the St. John's women's basketball team and staff joined NBC 4's Bruce Beck and his family and other volunteers at the Bread & Life Soup Kitchen, serving turkey dinners to thousands of Brooklyn area residents. The St. John's athletic department has been serving the community on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for 14-straight years, this was the first trip for the women's basketball team. The Bread & Life Soup kitchen is a three-year old state-of-the-art 85,000 square foot Bread & Life facility, that is the only venue in New York City that employs touch-screen technology to aid in the distribution of nourishment to its guests. The building opened in June 2008 at its new location on Lexington Ave. in Brooklyn, officially under the umbrella of the University. The Red Storm and staff, along with Beck and his family, helped dish out 1,700 hearty meals to help serve those in need during the holiday season. According to reports, there are 1.2 million New Yorkers who are in need of additional food and shelter. "I thought our young ladies would really love the experience, and they did a tremendous job," remarked Barnes Arico. "Every one of our players was great, all thirteen of them, they really reached out to everyone here to lend a helping hand." "As Coach Arico says, `they say receiving is nice, giving is nicer but giving back is nicest of all," said Beck. Beck and his family have been going to Bread & Life Soup Kitchen for 13-consecutive years. The volunteers helped dish out turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, collared greens, drinks and dessert to those that came into Bread & Life on Wednesday. In addition to those who sat, the volunteers also made "to go" containers for some waiting on line outside.
The women's basketball team sat with the diners, and helped bring some holiday cheer into their day.
Mary Pat Beirne, the Associate Director for Athletic Development at St. John's also joined the women's basketball team, staff and Beck. Beirne also volunteers at the Soup Kitchen every year. About St. John's Bread and Life |
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