Nov 20, 2006 8:00 am US/Eastern
Notable New Yorker: Sister Madeleine Kavanaugh
by Kate Sullivan
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Feeding the poor by way of a soup kitchen is not a new idea, but taking that soup kitchen on the road is. And the woman who has spearheaded the effort is truly a lesson in humility and goodness. Meet this week's Notable New Yorker: Sister Madeleine Kavanaugh.
"To do the work we do you have to be loving, caring and Sister Madeleine is all of that," one of her co-volunteers, Joe Martino, said.
Spend just a few minutes with Sister Madeleine and you know she is all of that. A nun for 50 years - her life is supposed to be full of sacrifice, dedication, and charity right?
Well, Sister Madeleine takes it up a notch, as manager of the St. John's Mobile Soup Kitchen, and at the end of a day, they feed close to 600 people.
"She stands out in the cold and makes them feel comfortable and we are here to help them. We are part of their family," Martino said.
Besides a hot meal, Kavanaugh and her team of volunteers offer medical services, housing advice, referrals for psychiatric help, even employment help.
St. John's Bread And Life, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit, relies solely on private donations and dedicated volunteers.
"No one does this by themselves but by many people," Sister Kavanaugh said.
The 37-foot converted Winnebago van travels to East New York, Jackson Heights, Coney Island and Brownsville. Now why do they do this?
"If someone is poor we are here to love them, and frankly to show them that God didn't forget them," Martino said.
Last year alone, they delivered 87,000 meals to the city's poorest residents. But more than food, Sister Madeleine and her team delivered something more important: respect and dignity.
"47 years of being able to work with and serve other people, God's love is the best part of it," Sister Madeleine said.
"Sister Madeleine Kavanaugh is like a saint to us, because has this love for the people that come to our soup kitchen here to eat, and she treats them compassion and love," Martino said.
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