Ringing in Christmas at Abraham House
It’s Christmas time at Thrive For Life! On December 16, we once again had the great pleasure of welcoming over 300 people from the community to break bread together in anticipation of Christmas. We began the day with our food pantry distribution, where teams of volunteers and residents distributed bags of fresh food to over 200 families. We were glad to have the help of many volunteers, including spiritual mentors and members of our Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge team who helped us keep the line running smoothly.
Afterwards, the entire community of residents, staff, volunteers, and families from around the South Bronx gathered for Mass celebrated by Fr. Zach who was joined by the several Jesuit scholastics, Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of New York, and the Catholic Chaplain at Bedford Hills and Taconic correctional facilities. During his homily, Fr. Zach explained the special importance of the Christmas season as not just a time for giving, but for sharing the love God extends to each and every one of us to all those in our lives.
And of course, no celebration would be complete without a delicious spread of food! Thanks to the hard work of our hospitality team and the generous folks at Ideal Supermarkets, our community enjoyed a full Christmas feast amid conversation, laughs, and fellowship.
We are tremendously grateful to everyone who made this beautiful day possible as we get ready for the Christmas holiday and reflect on the many blessings of the last year. Special thanks are owed to our wonderful hospitality team led by Carlos, Yessica, Gudelia, and Lourdes who spent many hours cooking and to Italo, Bernie, Juan, and their entire team for making sure our space was beautifully set up to accommodate the community. And of course, none of this would have been possible without the hard work of Carmen who helped us keep track of reservations and advertise the celebration among our local faith and community partners.
We also extend our deepest thanks to the Jesuit community at Fordham’s Ciszek Hall, to Julian and his family at Ideal Supermarkets, and the entire Thrive For Life staff who made this day possible. Thank you for your deep care for our mission and we look forward to more community celebrations in the weeks and months to come!