Hello - thank you for taking interest in this year's Giving Tuesday. I have been involved with St. Bonaventure University's Warming House since the summer of 2021 during which I participated in the Farm to Table program. It was during this time I first worked at the Warming House and eventually became a coordinator there. Since then, I have spent time working and visiting the Warming House. 

Most memorable from my time at the Warming House are the stories I learned and shared with volunteers and guests of the Warming House alike. It cannot be understated how important it is for people to share genuine human connection: conversation, company, and companionship. The Warming House is a powerful and important way that St. Bonaventure University is able to foster these relationships with people that need them most. It is an avenue for students to experience service, for St. Bonaventure University to give back to the Olean community, and for the campus community to learn and practice food security; most of all though, it is a way for the campus community and the Olean community to share, for a few hours a day, some humanity. 

My experience at the Warming House and with the Franciscan Center for Social Concern inspired my Honors Project for St. Bonaventure University: visiting different soup kitchens, engaging in participant observation, and interviewing members of each kitchen's staff in order to better understand the methods and goals of different soup kitchens. This project will expand the knowledge base on soup kitchens while helping to make the Warming House the best it can be. One of the kitchens I visited for this project was the St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia; the picture above is of myself and Mike Waseda, the Assistant Director for the Franciscan Center for Social Concern, when we visited the city. 

From now until November 28th, I am inviting you to donate as to support St. Bonaventure University's Franciscan Center for Social Concern's outreach programs, like the Warming House and others. 

Thank you for visiting my page, and I am thankful for your interest in this year's Giving Tuesday.