On Friday, December 5th, Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC held a graduation ceremony for the latest cohort of our Nutrition Workshop. Over the past two months, sixteen participants from various countries, including El Salvador, Ecuador, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, completed nine nutrition workshops in collaboration with Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension.
Throughout the program, participants learned to read food labels; teach their children to eat in healthier ways; to practice food safety and take proper care when washing fruits and vegetables.
Each participant received a diploma and a gift from Cabrini and Cornell as a token of appreciation for their dedication and perseverance throughout the program. The graduation was a joyful event where everyone shared a pleasant time together and prepared healthy recipes such as fruit salad, green salad, rice, and guacamole.
Cabrini Immigrant Services – Dobbs Ferry (CIS-DF), held a workshop entitled: “Reiniciar y Recargar Energías: Por qué el Autocuidado es Importante (Reset and Recharge Your Energy: Why Self Care Matters). The workshop was presented by Betsy Suarez, a licensed mental health counselor. Betsy spoke about the importance of taking care of yourself so you can better care for others. Several ideas were shared about using different ways to help relax the body and calm the mind. Ideas such as keeping a gratitude journal, guided meditations, a walk and calling a friend, were discussed.
The Knitting Group at Cabrini Immigrant Services – Dobbs Ferry (CIS-DF), held a special Thanksgiving luncheon. The group wanted to celebrate all the blessings that they had and continue to receive.
An estimated 2.9 million New Yorkers, including 1 million children, did not receive their food benefits on November 1st. While partial SNAP payments have been ordered to resume, it’s still unclear when families will get their full benefits. In the meantime, community food pantries, like ours, across the city are trying filling the gap and feed our communities.
As November approaches, we begin to think about our deceased family, friends and loved ones in a special way. On October 29th, some of the clients from Cabrini Immigrant Services, (CIS) Dobbs Ferry, NY, shared their celebration of Día de los Muertos, (the Day of the Dead), with the residents at St. Cabrini Nursing Home.
We are deeply saddened over the loss of our friend, Brigid K. Sullivan. It has been two months since she passed, and to honor her life and care, we have dedicated our community room at CIS-NYC in her name: the Brigid K. Sullivan Community Room.