Happy New Year to all! 2011 was a very challenging year both economically and in terms of deep personal need in our area. Everyday, more and more people are going without food, personal care products, heat, fuel for their vehicles and for some, they have no place to live! Someone said this: “It always seems just as soon as things are going good...just as soon as life takes a turn for the best...everything goes wrong...gets lost, confused and all messed up... and then you crash... and just have to sit there, cause you don’t have the strength to get up" Unfortunately, in these past twelve months, I have heard so many people say almost the same thing, “I do not have the strength to get up!”

Here at Compassion Coalition, Inc. it is our mission to distribute food, clothing, diapers, paper products and other sundries to emergency food providers and to other groups who serve the poor and those in need. Our goal is to help provide the “strength” to people so that they can “get back up” with dignity and love! Compassion Coalition provides this assistance throughout Utica, Rome, the Mohawk Valley and to any other regional areas of need. As we move into our twelfth year of operation, we will continue to act as a collection and distribution point for food and related products. Our primary goal is to make these products available to local hometown food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, halfway houses, community associations and inner-city churches that are located in the City of Utica, Oneida and Herkimer Counties, and surrounding areas in central New York.

We are looking forward to 2012 with great anticipation and hope for our awesome City of Utica and surrounding areas! We look forward to and count it a privilege to come along side of our member agencies to help those who cannot help themselves. Thank you for your continued support to our organization! By helping us in 2011, we were able to contribute 10.8 million dollars back into our community in the form of food, personal care products, furniture, baby care items and paper products!

For those corporations or individuals who have never heard about Compassion Coalition, I personally invite you to phone me to hear more about the great things we do within our community! We invite local groups, corporations, small businesses, schools, colleges and business groups to partner with us and to come and tour our facility. Please feel free to phone me at 315-266-0039 Ext. 18 to chat or if you would like to schedule a tour.

I will leave you with one of my most favored quotes, “A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.”
~Charles H. Spurgeon

Remember, “Today Was A Great Day!

Charlie Sweet
Executive Director