Guest Blog: Erik Lehmann, Founder of Cornell Coalition for the Homeless

Over 20 years ago, Erik Lehmann founded the Cornell Coalition for the Homeless when he was attending the university. Now, he draws on his personal service and volunteering experiences – as well as the fact that he himself found himself without a home for awhile as a teenager – to talk to others about the [...]

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14 Years of Empty Bowls

On Saturday, November 7, Adam and I attended the 14th annual Empty Bowls event at Loaves & Fishes. Check out our video about what the event was all about and how successful it was!

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New Interim Report Shows Recent Statistics in Tompkins County

On October 28, United Way of Tompkins County and Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County released their preliminary COMPASS II-2.0 report. The two organizations collaborate to survey residents of Tompkins County about some basic information, but mainly focus on the residents’ perception of the county.  989 surveys were completed.  This survey is a follow up [...]

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Stone Soup Gears Up for Allocation

This weekend, on Sunday, Nov. 15, an organization that I’m involved with, the United Way Stone Soup Philanthropy Corps, is hosting a meeting of landmark importance for the fledgling organization. Although the club has been functioning for nearly two years, we are finally following through with the third point of our mission statement. You see, [...]

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Keep Track of Aid Organizations with our New Interactive Map!

There are enough poverty relief organizations and local services in Ithaca that it’s too many to keep track of. Luckily, you have us here to help you out! So check out the interactive map below, which shows you some of the most prominent poverty relief organizations in the area, where they’re located, contact information and [...]

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Empty Bowls Event Fills Needs of Community

This past Saturday people picked up bowls, stood in line, and were then served soup. But no, they were not attending a soup kitchen, they were participating in Empty Bowls, Loaves & Fishes event. The event is based on the bowls local potters handcraft.  Those who buy the $35 ticket to the event pick a [...]

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Good News for People Who Read Bad News.

Bad conditions and unfortunate situations are around us all the time. We are exposed to awful things like poverty, disaster, disease and homelessness on a daily basis, whether it’s through a television news story, a personal anecdote from a friend or a chance encounter on the street. We see these problems every day, and each [...]

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“Trick or Eat” event collects hundreds of pounds of food

Katie Venetsky’s car is now so filled with canned goods, she is the only person that can fit in it.  President of S.W.I.F.T. (Stop Wasting Ithaca’s Food Today), Katie ’10 was excited that S.W.I.F.T.’s first “Trick or Eat” event went well. “It was so successful,” she said. “I’m really impressed with the amount of work [...]

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Erik Lehmann Inspires Volunteers to Go Further

Last week I explained that this year the Ithaca College chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the national organization that strives for more accessible low-income housing, has added an additional goal to its sights: advocacy to end homelessness. At the latest IC Habitat meeting, I met the man who provoked this change: Erik Lehmann, who spoke [...]

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