St. Luke's Mission of Mercy
From the Director's Chair
|
August 1, 2026
Happy Anniversary! It is incredible how fast this “year of firsts” has passed by. On April 30, we celebrated the 8thyear anniversary of the passing of Norm Paolini Jr. and the 1st year anniversary of the passing of Amy Betros, our beloved Co-Founders and Co-Directors. It was a beautiful tribute to two amazing people. On August 1, we celebrated the 32nd Anniversary of the start of St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. It has been 32 years since Norm and Amy began to live out their vision of providing love and assistance to God’s poor. With 5 other people, they began to carry out the Works of Mercy, and with God’s grace, people were cared for and lives were transformed. And today, again by the grace of God, 9 missionaries and an army of volunteers and supporters continue to move that vision forward and continue to help God’s poor and abandoned. God’s blessings, graces, love and mercy continue to flow and the Works of Mercy continue. I felt it would be a good time to look at some of what God has accomplished over the past year (August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026) at St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. As I was compiling these numbers, I was overcome with just how tremendously good God is. Without Him, none of this would be possible. During this past year, through the goodness of God, and with your help, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy has:
And during the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter)
I am so grateful to God for His continued blessings on and His faithfulness to St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy. And I am so grateful to all our Associate Missionaries, all our volunteers and all our benefactors who help make it possible to continue to move forward the vision and mission of Norm and Amy: to care for and serve God’s poor and abandoned with love, mercy and compassion! Jesus I Trust In You! Dennis Gilhooley, Director If you would like to help us continue this ministry, please click the button below... |
|
Latest happenings in and around St. Luke's!
|
Kids of the Kingdom Fundraiser On Saturday, August 15 we held our annual Gino Grasso Memorial Picnic to raise funds for our Kids of the Kingdom Summer program for children in our St. Luke's neighborhood. The event was held at Joseph's Country Manor and Grove. God blessed us with a beautiful day, a great turnout, delicious food and a successful fundraiser. Our sincerest thanks to all those who donated prizes, worked, volunteered, attended and supported us in any way. God is so good! |
|
|
Volunteers from Canisius University On Thursday, August 13 we had a group of students from Canisius University volunteer with us to help serve our afternoon meal. They served food, wrapped meals to go and washed dishes. It was a blessing to have this group of faithful workers with us to serve God's poor. Thank you Canisius University and God bless you! |
|
|
Timber We had three "sick" trees on our property by our Good Shepherd Residence that, for safety reasons, needed to come down. On Friday, August 7, Parkhill Tree Service was here to take them down for us. We have worked with Parkhill before and are amazed at how quickly, safely and efficiently they do their job. Within 2.5 hours, they were cleaning up and just about done. We miss the trees but we are glad that the area around Good Shepherd is now safer. |
|
|
Celebrating our 32nd Anniversary
On Saturday, August 1, we celebrated our 32nd Anniversary. Back on August 1, 1994, Amy Betros and Norm Paolini opened the doors of St. Luke's Mission of Mercy for the first time. And to introduce St. Luke's they had a cookout. So, to honor that legacy, we decided to have a cookout as well. From noon - 2:00 pm, we served hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and with the help of two very generous benefactors, we were able to provide cans of soda and bags of potato chips to every guest and for dessert we had an ice cream truck. We served over 300 people! We had beautiful weather, plenty of food, an amazing team of volunteers and everyone enjoyed the afternoon. God is so good! We are so grateful to our benefactors and all the volunteers who worked with us to make our anniversary cookout so beautiful and special. We could never do any of this without the grace of God and each of you! Here is to another 32 years! |
We are grateful to WIVB Channel 4 who was there to cover the event. You can check out the video on our In The News page.
|
|
Farm to Family provides fresh produce to those in need
We are so blessed here at St. Luke's to be one of the many food providers that benefits from the Farm to Family program. This program, developed by Earl Knauss, a great friend to St. Luke's, rescues and delivers unsellable fresh produce to several food pantries in Western New York. This is so important because the poor often do not have access to or the means for getting fresh, healthy foods. Farm to Family visits St. Luke's at least twice a week and people start lining up early to be able to benefit from the bounty that this incredible ministry provides. We are so grateful. God bless Farm to Family! |
|
|
The need is great but God's love is greater July has been a very busy month here at St. Luke's Mission of Mercy. We have seen many more people and much longer lines than usual for our daily meal and for our various ministries. But God, who is never outdone in generosity, continues to raise up volunteers and benefactors to help provide and care for those who do not have. It is a blessing to see those who come seeking assistance, finding it. God is so good! |
|
Get Involved!
Volunteers are a critical partner in ministering to the homeless and hurting in our community! If you are interested in volunteering, please check out the opportunities listed on this website. We hope you will find a great sense of satisfaction in partnering with St. Luke’s. Your gift also makes a difference! Consider donating to St. Luke's Mission of Mercy today. |
How can you help? 1. Donate today to feed those in most need. Click the donate button below. 2. Volunteer. Consider volunteering in the Kitchen or Mission Mall during the week from 10am-2pm. Saturdays are currently popular and there's a need at other times. Volunteers, please call Karen Garigen at 716-625-6174. God bless! |
|
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless you always! |
|
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
|
|
THANK YOU
for your support. Your gift helps us continue serving others.
WHAT WE DO (The Works of Mercy)
Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead.
We need you, today!
Rising prices hurt everyone, but the poor suffer the most. The number of people coming for food and meals each day has increased. We now serve an average of 400 meals per day (Mon-Sat). As costs for food, kitchen supplies, utilities and fuel rise, it directly impacts our expenses at St. Luke's.
|
Community volunteers groups make a big difference! Employee work days from places like M&T bank, Lawley Insurance, National Grid and others come to lend a hand in feeding the hungry!
|
We are so thankful to corporations who run drives. They give their employees and customers a chance to donate. Donations of diapers and baby formula to our baby room, food for the pantry, school supplies, and so much more! We appreciate your kindness and generosity. ♥️
|
|
|
|
Here's an idea! Buffalo Black Nurses Association picked a theme and collected hygiene items for women.
What can you do?
What can you do?
