Community

My St. Susan’s Story

41 Years Later, It All Comes Full Circle

Missy Paterniti is pictured helping at St. Susan Center in Jamestown.

My story with St. Susan Center didn't begin five years ago when I became actively involved with the organization.

It began 41 years ago, although I didn't know it at the time.

I was 10 years old and a member of St. James Church, where the soup kitchen that would eventually become St. Susan Center first began. I went to church every week, usually sitting in the front pew, and I attended catechism there.

There are things about that building I can still remember as if I were standing there today.

The smell of the gym. The bingo chips. The cigarette smoke. And almost always, the smell of food coming from the kitchen.

As children, we knew there was a soup kitchen, but we didn't really understand what that meant. At night, when we were there for catechism, the building felt completely different than it did during the day. We saw the kitchen and smelled the food, but we didn't understand who came through those doors while we were at school or why they needed to be there.

We didn't understand that people in our community were going without meals. We didn't understand what it took to feed them.

And I certainly never imagined that 41 years later, I would be helping raise money for the organization that grew from that little soup kitchen.

Today, I understand it very differently.

For more than five years, I have had the privilege of being actively involved with St. Susan Center. During that time, I have learned that hunger is only one part of the challenge many people face.

Sometimes a meal is the immediate need. But long-term success requires more than meeting an immediate need. People need opportunity, structure, responsibility and a chance to become productive and engaged in their community.

I have always believed there is an important difference between simply giving someone a handout and giving someone a hand up.

That is what I appreciate about the direction St. Susan's is taking.

Yes, someone who is hungry can receive a meal. But there is also an increasing emphasis on participation, work experience, community service and personal responsibility.

Helping someone through a difficult moment is important.

Helping create a path for that person to move forward is even more important.

More Than a Meal

St. Susan Center currently serves approximately 175 to 200 meals every day.

Think about that for a moment.

Prepare enough food for as many as 200 people. Serve it. Clean everything up.

Then come back tomorrow and do it all over again.

That is a tremendous undertaking for an organization operating with a very small paid staff and relying heavily on volunteers.

But the work doesn't end when the plates are cleared.

Executive Director Cherie Rowland works tirelessly to make St. Susan's a place where people can find not only food, but also opportunity, responsibility and a connection to their community.

One of her ideas captures that philosophy perfectly.

She calls it "Just Show Up."

The concept is simple. Agencies from throughout Chautauqua County are welcome to bring individuals to St. Susan's who need work experience, structure, volunteer experience or simply a place to become involved and begin building those skills.

Sometimes the first step doesn't need to be complicated.

Just show up.

Show up somewhere you are needed. Take responsibility for something. Work beside someone else. Learn something new. Discover that you have something to contribute.

St. Susan's also participates in the Youth Employment Program (YEP) through COI, giving teenagers an opportunity to gain paid summer work experience. COI pays participating teens while they work at St. Susan's, where they learn responsibility, workplace expectations and valuable job skills while contributing to the operation of the Center.

The Center also provides work experience opportunities through DSS, with six individuals currently participating. They contribute their time and work as part of requirements connected to their benefits.

St. Susan's also welcomes people who need to complete community service hours, providing another opportunity to fulfill a responsibility while doing meaningful work.

All of these efforts reinforce something I believe very strongly:

People need purpose.

Sometimes helping someone means feeding them today.

Sometimes it means giving them somewhere to be tomorrow.

A responsibility. A routine. A place where their contribution matters. A chance to develop skills and prove to themselves that they are capable of more.

That is a hand up.

The People Who Make It Possible

None of this would happen without St. Susan's volunteers.

With such a small paid staff, volunteers are essential. They prepare and serve food, clean, organize donations and handle countless other jobs that keep the Center operating.

When an organization is serving as many as 200 meals every day, every person willing to contribute matters.

And that brings me to this year and a very personal challenge.

For the first time, I am responsible for leading a large fundraiser.

I want it to succeed because we need to raise money for St. Susan's, but I also want this event to give people a better understanding of what St. Susan Center really represents.

And in a way, it brings my entire story full circle.

Taking It Outside Under the Big Tent

Years ago, when St. Susan's held its cooking competition, the event took place inside the Center.

This year, we are bringing that spirit back, but we're doing it a little differently.

We're taking it outside under the big tent.

I want people to picture the atmosphere of an old-fashioned Italian festival or a big community gathering.

Long tables filled with people. Friends and families talking and laughing. Volunteers moving throughout the tent. Homemade soup being served by teams proud of what they created.

People tasting different soups, having fun and learning more about St. Susan's along the way.

I want it to feel like community.

Each cooking team will prepare approximately five gallons of soup, enough to serve around 200 people. The soup will be prepared before the event and brought in ready to serve.

There is a reason we chose that amount.

It represents approximately what St. Susan's does every single day.

For our cooking teams, it will be one large pot of soup for one event.

For St. Susan's, feeding 175 to 200 people is an everyday reality.

That is something I hope our cooks and everyone attending will think about when they see those five-gallon pots of soup.

You Don't Need to Be a Professional Chef

I don't want anyone to decide they can't participate simply because they don't have access to a commercial kitchen.

For food safety, all soup must be prepared in an approved commercial kitchen.

But if you don't have one, we can help.

Participating teams can arrange to use the commercial kitchen at St. Susan Center, and The Pantry's commercial kitchen will also be available for teams that need somewhere to prepare their soup.

You don't need to own a restaurant.

You don't need to be a professional chef.

Find a friend, spouse, coworker or family member. Pull out that soup recipe everyone tells you is amazing and put together a team.

We'll help you figure out the kitchen.

Then bring your soup and meet us under the big tent.

Honoring Those Who Show Up for Us

There is another important part of Battle of the Badges that means a great deal to me.

Throughout the event, we will be recognizing members of our local Police, Fire and EMS for everything they do for our communities.

These are the men and women who show up when people need help. They respond in the middle of the night, on holidays and during some of the most difficult moments people will ever experience.

Many serve professionally. Many serve as volunteers. And so often, they do it without expecting recognition.

During Battle of the Badges, we want to take some time to change that.

Each night, we will recognize local first responders and give our community an opportunity to thank them for their service, sacrifice and commitment.

There is something especially fitting about doing that at this event.

St. Susan's mission is about showing up when people need help.

Our Police, Fire and EMS personnel spend their lives doing exactly that.

In the end, it comes back to the same thing:

People showing up for people.

A Community That Showed Up When St. Susan's Needed It

There is another part of this story that I don't want to overlook.

Following the recent incident with St. Susan's freezer, the outpouring of support from our community has been incredible.

When the Center suddenly found itself facing a serious problem, people, businesses and organizations stepped forward and asked:

"What can we do to help?"

A very special thank you goes to Hometown Rental for allowing St. Susan's to use their freezers when they were desperately needed. That immediate generosity helped the Center continue doing what matters most: making sure meals could continue to be served.

We also want to give special recognition to Jamestown Ice, which has always been one of the best supporters of St. Susan Center. Their continued generosity and willingness to step up for St. Susan's never go unnoticed.

We are also incredibly grateful for the continued support of The Chautauqua Center, Jamestown Engine Plant, Falconer Printing, Wegmans, Target, Panera Bread, Tops Friendly Markets and Walmart.

These businesses and organizations support St. Susan's throughout the year, and their contributions make a real difference.

When you are preparing and serving 175 to 200 meals every day, partnerships like these aren't simply appreciated.

They are essential.

We truly could not do this without them.

The response following the freezer incident reminded me once again of what can happen when people decide to step forward when they are needed.

Businesses showed up.

Organizations showed up.

Volunteers showed up.

People showed up.

To everyone who has donated, volunteered, provided food, equipment, freezer space, financial support or simply asked how they could help:

Thank you.

And For Me, It Comes Back to St. James

As I've planned this fundraiser, I keep thinking about that little girl sitting in the front pew at St. James Church.

I still remember that gym.

I remember the bingo chips.

I remember the cigarette smoke.

And I remember the smell of food coming from that kitchen.

At 10 years old, I didn't understand what was happening there.

At 51, I understand why it matters.

Today, St. Susan's represents compassion, but it also represents something equally important:

Responsibility. Opportunity. Work. Purpose. Dignity.

It means providing a meal when someone needs one while also recognizing that the meal can be a starting point, not the finish line.

It means giving a teenager an opportunity to experience their first job.

It means giving someone receiving assistance a way to contribute.

It means providing a place for someone to fulfill community service.

It means volunteers giving their time because this work simply could not happen without them.

It means businesses and organizations stepping forward when St. Susan's needs them.

It means recognizing the Police, Fire and EMS personnel who continually show up when our communities need them.

And it means giving people a hand up.

So, 41 years after my St. Susan's story unknowingly began, I'm asking Chautauqua County to help me write the next chapter.

Come cook.

Come volunteer.

Come sit with us under the big tent.

Come taste some soup.

Come help us recognize our Police, Fire and EMS.

Come see what St. Susan's is really about.

And if you aren't sure what you have to offer, start with the simplest thing you can do.

Just show up.

Because sometimes showing up is the first step toward something better.

Be Part of It

To purchase tickets, sign up to cook or learn more about Battle of the Badges, visit the St. Susan Center Facebook page or visit us online.

St. Susan Center:

https://stsusancenter.org

Battle of the Badges:

The Battle of the Badges: Ladle Showdown

Come taste the soup. Come support St. Susan's. Come help us honor those who serve.

Just show up.