Our new initiative!

One of the things that we have been hearing over the past year from our partners is the tremendous need for socks that they have seen among the street sleeping homeless that they support.
It has been our goal from our inception to add items of daily living-items that might make the cold nights for a street sleeping homeless person maybe just a little more bearable-as one more item in addition to sleeping bags that we would distribute.
We are happy to announce that we will now be collecting and distributing new and unused socks!!!
Please, as you are out shopping this busy holiday season and or even passing by your local dollar store, please find it in your heart to throw an extra pair of socks into your basket. Or maybe you will come across a pair of new socks in your sock drawer that you would like to donate?
All sleeping bag project member's will be available to collect socks or give you a convenient drop off location for your NEW sock donation.

This winter we will be sure to get them into the right hands and onto the feet of some of the most vulnerable members of our community this winter.

Welcoming our newest member Tariq George

Appreciation letter from our friends at Safehorizon Streetwork Project

Please check out a thank you letter that we received today from a new organization that we recently donated sleeping bags to. This group is unique in that they focus solely on street-sleeping teenagers in NYC. We are so thankful that we were able to help them out and are looking forward to the opportunity to send them even more bags with your help. Thank you so much for your help thus far and remember, no donation is too small. We have a long and cold winter ahead of us. Thank you!!!!

Our Partner - Safehorizon Streetwork Project

Hi guys. So happy that we just delivered 25 more bags to the uptown location of Safe Horizon's Street Work Project!
The Street Work Project is a homeless outreach program for teenagers and young adults under the age of 24 years old. A former client of their's contacting me a couple of days ago and put me in contact with them. The group was very pleased as they said they have been receiving lots of calls the past few days from street-sleeping-youth requesting sleeping bags and we are so happy that thanks to all of your support we were able to supply them with a total of 55 bags today!!!
Once again thank you all for your continued support. We are once again expecting the temperatures to drop later this week.
God bless the Street Work Project night team as they head out this evening delivering sleeping bags and other support to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Walk For Warmth 2014

The Walk For Warmth started on a brisk Sunday morning. Good on two accounts, better to walk when it is cool, better to remember the approaching cold weather and why we were walking. We were about fifteen strong including Al Palazzo who came all the way from Australia.

We left New York Methodist Hospital and headed to the Manhattan Bridge. We stopped for some photos near the Barclay’s Center and realized that no one would see our beautiful t-shirts designed by Marcin Trojan and donated by Jody Yarmush because we all had coats on. Oh well. We made it to the Whole Foods at Union Square where we picked up a few more walkers and some light breakfast. We also picked up some banners provided by Ed Casey to herald the walk. Paris Datillo was a great trooper and held one of the banners up front the whole rest of the way.

Next we walked to 5th Avenue past the Empire State Building alongside Central Park to 72nd Street. We crossed the park to the boat basin café and had a nice lunch and lost a few and picked up a few walkers. Then, we walked via the Hudson River Greenway all the way down to the 9-11 museum and memorial. 
We picked up a few more people and spent some time in the museum and memorial. It was excellent but bittersweet for most of us native New Yorkers. 

Then we returned to New York Methodist via the Brooklyn Bridge stopping at the Fish and Sip restaurant for dinner.

All in all, it was over 20 miles and just a few complaints. Ronell Kirkley and Lorna Beckford reported that we raised over $7000 in total. This is a fabulous start to the sleeping bag season. All of the walkers and all of the donors who made up this special event are fantastic and have our thanks. 

Jody Yarmush
President
The Sleeping Bag Project NYC — in Manhattan, New York.

End of season 2013

We are pleased to send you an update of what we were able to accomplish with your generous donations and support this season. We have been able to distribute 200 sleeping bags to the street-sleeping-homeless of NYC during one of the coldest winters the city has seen in many years. We took a spark, lit in the hearts of a few New Yorkers that dared to care, and ignited a fire that has warmed the hearts and bodies of people desperately in need of assistance. With that same fire we were able to inspire you, our supporters, to fan the flames which made a difference to so many.
Spring has arrived and the flames have died down, we are left with glowing embers but we pray that those embers will provide us with enough warmth and light to last until we spark a fire next year. It is our sincere hope that next season's fire will burn even hotter and brighter to light the way to achieving our 2014 - 2015 goals:

• We will distribute 250 - 300 sleeping bags. 
• We will trade the old sleeping bags for new ones as well as wash and repurpose the old ones. 
• We will hold steadfast to our commitment to you that 100% of your donation dollars will be used for the purchase of sleeping bags. 
• We will be incorporated as a 501c3 non-profit organization.
• And finally, please save the date for our season kick off; The Sleeping Bag Project NYC's Walk for Warmth 2014, on October 12, 2014.

As we take a moment to reflect and wonder at how we may have helped even just one of New York City's most vulnerable rest a little easier, it is our fervent hope that God's grace might help us, even in this small way, to change lives and leave a legacy that will live on forever.

Thank you so very much.

Jody, Ronell, Lorna and the members of The Sleeping Bag Project of NYC.