Community Corner

Giving Thanks and Giving Back

Box Of Love Delivers Holiday Hope to Thousands of Needy Families Throughout Queens and the Rest of the City's Five Boroughs

Imagine having to decide whether to put food on your table or pay the utility bill.

For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving means just that.

But thanks to the Box Of Love project, coordinated by nonprofit Here's Life Inner City, a partnership of churches, food pantries and community organizations, 20,000 New Yorkers received a box for Thursday's feast filled with food, love and hope.

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life," said New York director Clint Owens, quoting a favorite verse from the Bible.

Speaking last Saturday from the group's Long Island City distribution center as packages were sorted for families across Queens and the rest of the city's five boroughs, Owens stressed that Box Of Love's mission was much more than just delivering food.

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"With every box we deliver, we're also giving hope to those that have lost themselves by letting them know there's a community of people who do care about them immensely," he said.

For Jimmy Badillo of Hunts Point in The Bronx, it was this hope that helped him get his life back on track. 

Five years ago, Badillo was living in a shelter for the "first-time" homeless with his son, then 16.

"Things looked especially bleak heading into the winter of '05, when we got that first box," Badillo said. "But as I watched my son chowing down that Thanksgiving, getting filled up for the first time in a long time, I realized someone, somewhere loved me. That hope filled me with the passion and drive to make a better life for us."

Today, Badillo is a volunteer coordinator for Box Of Love's mission at Damascus Church in The Bronx — helping others in the hope that they too will find a clear path to a better life.

Mindful of their roots, Badillo and his son, now grown and working as an administrator at a hospital in the city, are still thankful for that first box.

"Every time I see someone digging through a dumpster or looking through the trash for food, I remember the desperation and what it's like struggling to survive. I think to myself, there goes someone's uncle, son, daughter or mom, and I want to help them avoid what I went through," Badillo said.

Owens, who was introduced to Inner City Life Ministry many years ago, held up Badillo's journey from homelessness to hope as an example for all New Yorkers.

"Sometimes I think we take for granted, how a little effort on our part can have a huge impact on someone struggling — physically, spiritually and emotionally," Owens said.

As the success of this year's Box of Love campaign is still being digested, Owens' focus will be on the future as he looks forward to HLIC's next mission.

"Our next big initiative is to assemble homeless care kits, which will have blankets, gloves, scarves and socks — that's in January," Owens said.

And though his service is a deeply-felt spiritual calling, Owens emphatically adds that he and his partners in the field offer up food, clothing, shelter and hope to all comers, regardless of race, creed or religion.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Bayside-Douglaston