A Season of Thanksgiving

Ah yes it's that time again.

The brisk, cold wind gusts and bare trees remind us that we are fast approaching winter and Thanksgiving is almost upon us.

I am looking forward to my family's Thanksgiving custom; we gather in a circle and name things we are all thankful for and how The LORD blessed us in the last year. I have a lot to mention; I can't wait!

We also remember those who do not have families (those who are singled; widowed) and those who do not have anything to eat on this 'feast' day. The season of Thanksgiving should also be a season of giving and helping those in need. On Sunday, I was able to join my co-workers in service as we volunteered at the AFYA Foundation warehouse, and it was beyond fulfilling!!

What is AFYA?

AFYA is a non-profit organization who seeks to recover targeted surplus medical supplies, hospital equipment and humanitarian provisions from the New York healthcare, corporate and private communities and donates them to hospitals and clinics in Africa and the Caribbean. The organization was born after Danielle Butin (an occupational therapist) spent the summer of 2007 in Tanzania and met several medical workers who spoke about their limited medical resources. Her experiences with these medical personnel and their need impacted her so much, that she was moved to action and AFYA was born. AFYA means 'good health' in Swahili. 

AFYA has been able to partner with many medical institutions in New York (including my hospital; MSKCC) to get these much needed supplies for use in other countries. This Sunday, many volunteers from MSK came together to participate in the AFYA 'sortathon'. Because AFYA gets a vast amount of supplies, they are always in need of volunteers to help 'sort' and bag them - hence the name sortathon. There are about 40/50 of us present at this sortathon, and in three hourse, we have over 6 enormous bins and counted boxes filled with the many bags we sorted and organized! It was my second time volunteering with AFYA, and I can't wait to go back!!!

Because of the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, AFYA has been concentrating on sending more medical supplies to countries affected by this deadly disease.

This Thanksgiving, as you start contemplating what dish to bring for dinner, or which stores you are going to camp outside of on Friday (shame!), why not give your time and donations to organizations that need it most:

To learn more about AFYA, or to volunteer with them, visit

- The AFYA Foundation (NY)

If you are interested in volunteering at a Soup Kitchen or donating goods, visit
- Hungervolunteer.org (NY) 
- Foodbanknyc.org (NY)
-Foodpantries.org (All States)
- Dosomething.org (All States)