By Scott Brinton
The packages, at once so simple yet so thoughtful, were to go to Bellmore's neediest - the homebound, the poor, people who are scraping by even amidst suburbia's bounty. Their intent was to provide holiday cheer to folks who might otherwise spend this blessed time of year in utter depression.
Sister Winifred Cunniff and numerous church volunteers organized the gifts for donation to local residents. As outreach director, whose many duties include running St. Barnabas's food pantry, Sister Winifred oversees such gift giving at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Her mission extends far beyond the holidays, however.
Through the food pantry, Sister Winifred and St. Barnabas volunteers, particularly the members of the St. Vincent De Paul Society, help ensure that the area's indigent can eat healthy food throughout the year. Sister Winifred has aided hundreds, even thousands of Bellmore residents. For her tireless devotion to caring for those whom society too often forgets, the Bellmore Herald names Sister Winifred Person of the Year 2000.
Upon reading this announcement, Sister Winifred will likely say that she does not deserve such an honor. (She was not to know until publication that she was being so honored.) Sister Winifred will likely say that the many volunteers who provide the life-blood for St. Barnabas's Outreach Program should receive the accolades. All of them would likely say that they're doing what they're doing to help the poor, not to glorify themselves.
True enough, but we at the Herald believe such unsung heroes deserve credit for selfless acts. Sister Winifred embodies a spirit of kindness and humanity that we see less and less of these days. That is why she is Person of the Year.
The St. Barnabas food pantry is a small, Spartan room at the very back corner of the rectory's basement. It is lined with metal shelves that hold nonperishable foodstuffs. A side door provides anonymous access to the pantry for those who wish to take food. The room is kept continually stocked with donations from St. Barnabas's 5,200 families, as well as from community organizations such as the Bellmore Kiwanis Club. One week every month during Masses, volunteers collect donations. Then, the arduous task of separating the foodstuffs by category and shelving them begins.
On a recent Friday, Sister Winifred and St. Vincent De Paul volunteer Eileen Devlin of Bellmore were on hand to assist a young mother as she selected food for her children. They walked her through the pantry, patiently helping her find just the right foods her kids might enjoy. The woman, who did not want to be identified, holds a low-wage job that never pays enough to feed her children.
The story is common. The pantry sees numerous young mothers, many times without a husband and the means to support families, desperate to provide for their hungry children. The pantry also collects and distributes unused toys, diapers, children's clothes and candies, with the intent of "making life a little more livable" for families in dire straits, said Sister Winifred.
"We have a number of single moms in need," she said. "We have a number of spouses on disability in need.
"We have people who come regularly to the food pantry for a year or two. Some, you might see once, and you don't see them again."
St. Vincent De Paul volunteers also provide home visits for the sick and infirm, many of them elderly. The volunteers cook for those who can no longer do so themselves. This Meals on Wheels Program provides a lifeline for people who might otherwise be forced to move from their homes, to where, they do not know.
The food pantry started around 1980 under the direction of Monsignor Daniel Potterton and members of the St. Vincent De Paul Society. The program represented one part of the Catholic Church's thrust to provide for the suburbs the type of outreach programs often found in cities.
Over the years, St. Barnabas's food pantry has grown markedly. It now even sends foodstuffs to pantries at several other churches throughout the Bellmores.
Sister Winifred has run the Outreach Program since 1996. At St. Barnabas, she also aids with religious education, hosting 15 meetings annually for parents of students at the St. Barnabas school. And she assists with Catholic religious training for adults, known as the Rite of Christian Initiation.
Sister Winifred received her training as a nun at Sisters of Charity in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1954. She then served in Brooklyn, Patchogue, Bellmore, Brooklyn again and Queens, before finally settling back in Bellmore.
Her view of the poor locally: "I say, you're in Bellmore, and you may not think there are people in need, but there are people in need."
We're fortunate to have Sister Winifred helping to look out for them. Thank you, sister.
To donate to St. Barnabas's food pantry, call the Parish Outreach Office at (516) 785-6243.
The Outreach Program is sponsoring a blood drive at the St. Barnabas school, behind the church, at 2320 Bedford Ave., from 8:30 A.M. to 2 P.M. Sunday, March 18.
