BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In the heart of South Buffalo, volunteers at the South Buffalo Community Table spend their days making sure no one in the community goes hungry.
Four times a week, hot meals are served with no questions asked, a mission that has remained at the center of the organization for more than four decades.
Now, the organization is preparing to honor the woman who started it all.
The South Buffalo Community Table will unveil a mural dedicated to founder Sister Celeste O’Bryan on May 16. The mural, created by students in the Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School art department, celebrates Sister Celeste’s legacy of compassion, dignity and service to the community.
"It is no questions asked, so when people are hungry or need us we are here," said board member Kathleen Higgins Greely.
Sister Celeste O’Bryan founded the Community Table in 1983 with the hope of making a difference in South Buffalo. Since then, volunteers have continued her mission by serving meals and creating a welcoming environment for those in need.
"There is not only hunger, but Sister Celeste always said loneliness is a form of hunger," Higgins Greely said. "Sometimes that’s the worst one to try to feed, so we have people who just come in to have a conversation and be with people."
For Betty Reitel, who has volunteered at the kitchen for more than 20 years, helping others is about compassion and treating every guest with dignity.
"In this world today, we should all be more compassionate, more caring and share with those who are going through a hard time," Reitel said. "They are very vulnerable and very poor, so those of us who care should be sharing."
Reitel said volunteers work hard to ensure everyone who walks through the doors feels respected.
"We treat the clients very respectfully and very nicely and that is really important because they don’t choose to be here," she said. "They would rather be home fixing their own meals if they could afford it."
The mural project brought together more than 30 students from Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School, which spent months designing and painting the tribute.
WATCH: 'We want people to see unity': South Buffalo Community Table mural celebrates legacy of Sister Celeste O’Bryan
Merita Jaha, who worked alongside the students, said the project was about more than just creating art.
"It is not just the paintings and the colors, but the feelings of what all of this evokes to us," Jaha said. "To bring that sense of community and togetherness, a community experience of all of us being one."
Jaha said she hopes people who see the mural are reminded of unity and the importance of giving back.
Organizers say the mural represents exactly what Sister Celeste stood for — community, kindness and service.
The mural unveiling is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the South Buffalo Community Table.
