Midnight Run

Our Midnight Run mission is continuing during the pandemic -- and it's more important than ever. The economic downturn prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic will cause homelessness to increase as much as 45% in New York City and across the U.S., according to a study released in fall 2020 by Columbia University economist Brendan O'Flaherty. That means that over 800,000 Americans could be living on the streets. We are grateful to FPCP member Ron Sopyla for coordinating our Midnight Run trips, and to everyone in the FPCP and greater Philipstown communities for supporting this critical effort.

Midnight Run is nonprofit dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless. Based in Dobbs Ferry, NY, Midnight Run coordinates over 1,000 relief missions each year to provide the homeless with some of the bare necessities they need for survival.

FPCP partners with Midnight Run. We collaborate with area churches, synagogues, schools, and civic groups to collect donations of food, gently worn clothing and shoes, blankets, and personal care items. Every fall and spring, FPCP volunteers sign up to go on a Midnight Run on a specific date. They travel in a caravan with other groups of volunteers to New York City, where they distribute the donated goods to the homeless. These late-night relief efforts create an opportunity for conversation, comfort, sharing, trust, and understanding. This human exchange is the heart and soul of the Midnight Run mission.

You can donate to our Midnight Run mission to help the homeless. Before our fall and spring Midnight Runs, FPCP collects donations of food, blankets, gently worn clothing, and travel-sized toiletries. Coats, pants, shoes and socks in larger sizes for men are especially needed. And: We are always grateful for cash contributions to support the mission and to buy some essential items, including packages of new socks and undergarments.

You can also volunteer to join us on our next Midnight Run to New York City. Volunteers are always welcome! On the afternoon of the run (usually a Saturday), volunteers of all ages can help sort, fold, and bundle up clothes, and also to prepare simple sack lunches for the homeless. This is a terrific community service opportunity for middle and high school students. Volunteers are also welcome to go on the Midnight Run. Note that space in our van is always limited, so please contact us to register in advance for the next Midnight Run.

To donate or volunteer for FPCP's next Midnight Run mission to help the homeless, please contact our church office at 1presbyterian@gmail.com or call the office at (845) 265-3220.

To learn more about the mission, history, and general activities of the nonprofit organization Midnight Run, please visit www.midnightrun.org.

23rd Street: A Reflection on the Midnight Run
by Lynn Brown

Leading the FPCP group and the caravan of vehicles on this Midnight Run, there was a lot of metaphor about “the journey” for me this trip. I was leading the group somewhere we’ve never been before. I was feeling confident in my knowledge of the city and the research I did about our specific stops. And I was humbled.

Our travel into the city was smooth -- down the West Side, and across town easily on 23rd Street, to our first stop under the FDR. We were well-received. We just needed to get ourselves in a rhythm, knowing where things were, making little adjustments to our setup. We had a good-sized and very grateful group, and it was an absolutely lovely night to be outdoors and to visit with them.

We left to go to our second stop -- not too far away, at Union Square Park. It should have been a short and easy journey from Stop 1 to 2,

Who knew that 23rd Street -- the street that had carried us so smoothly across town to Stop 1 -- would turn out to be a street that we couldn’t turn off of, when we needed to, to get to Stop 2? It turned out that 23rd Street is a crosstown street, no turns allowed! We were all the way back at 8th Avenue on the West Side of Manhattan before we could finally turn off of 23rd Street. When we finally made it to our second stop, our people weren’t there … Well, there were lots of people everywhere, but not the people who were expecting us. But we did introduce some new people to the Midnight Run, stragglers who were surprised by our presence and our gifts. They were very grateful. Teams circled the park and some came, but not the numbers we expected.

Our third and final stop of the night was at Madison Square Park. Again, it was not that far away – but we couldn’t get there from here! We drove around and around – 23rd Street kept coming back in front of us, but I was smarter now – I was NOT getting stuck on 23rd Street again! Finally Katie said, “Lynn, you HAVE to be able to turn off of 23rd Street there, because Madison Avenue ENDS there! Or BEGINS there?"

So: I got on 23rd Street, and I turned left onto Madison Avenue -- and there we were, at our third stop! Our people were there, too. They were on the benches, on the sidewalk, everywhere. It was our largest group of the night! We almost gave up. We were so close, but we were afraid we couldn’t get there. When we apologized for being late, we were told, “But you’re here. You didn’t forget us." This very large and very needy group was so grateful. They needed every single item we had brought to offer them.

It was 23rd Street -- the road that that initially was so smooth, the road that later seemed to hold on to us so that we couldn't go any other way. Finally, when we learned to trust the road again, it brought us to our final destination.

I expect that we all encounter “23rd Streets” in different forms. We need to stay with them. We need to be open to how they change, and we need to TRUST. Sometimes those roads take us where we need to go.