Eat Good. Do Good. TOMORROW!
Five Guys Fundraiser Night

Stop by the Five Guys Greece location (1948 W. Ridge Road) tomorrow, Tuesday August 29th between 4-10pm, to help us raise money for our Patient Assistance Fund. Five Guys will donate up to 15% of all sales directly to His Branches and all you have to do is enjoy a meal. Last year we had such a tremendous showing of support that we received an additional 5% of total sales which came to $464.05! This year, we hope to top that with a goal of $500.

Bring your friends and family! Splurge on a shake (or three) to support our work. There is no formal program as a part of this evening. Whether you hang for a bit to chat with our team or pop in quick to take your food on the go, we hope to see you there!

Making Rochester’s Streets Safer For All

Our team had the privilege of participating in the recent Complete Streets Makeover at the corner of Arnett and Warwick adjacent to our 19th Ward location. On June 10th, leaders, friends, supporters and neighbors came out for a day full of music, food, energy, and hope in executing a project to address key areas of safety concern on our block. This included curb bump-outs and a street mural to slow traffic (clocked the highest speed of 75 mph in that location), two parklets with flower boxes, benches, community messages of hope, and sidewalk games to add engaging gathering spaces in front of the library and Arnett, as well as space for an upcoming additional crosswalk across Arnett and pedestrian safety crossing signage.

You can read more about the event and it’s impact on Reconnect Rochester’s blog HERE. These colorful and intentional updates have already changed habits creating safer and more enjoyable spaces for our community. Our neighbors continue to advocate with local leaders that many of these changes be approved in order to become permanent fixtures. We were excited to partner with our neighbors, collaborative partners, and City leaders to provide safe spaces for our neighborhood. (Graphic by: Reconnect Rochester)

Welcome Our New Neighbors!

We are thrilled to welcome another business to our block! Brothers & Sisters Unisex Salon opened their 3rd location this summer right next door to our 19th Ward location. In addition to helping people look their best, owner Devon Reynolds also believes in helping people feel their best. As a Community Health Educator with Common Ground Health, Reynolds and his team recognize that physical and mental well-being are dependent on a culture of health and are helping create safe spaces in trusting relationships for needs to be met.

Spreading Hope

This summer, Rochester has already received two bus loads of more than 100 asylees, who are in the U.S. legally as they wait for their applications to be processed. More migrants are expected to be relocated to the area in the coming weeks. Though New York City is footing the bill related to housing and food security, essential needs are being provided from community based organizations like His Branches as these families prepare to begin their new life in Rochester entering local schools, the workforce, and becoming part of our neighborhoods.

Thanks to our partnerships with Bombas and Ibero American Action League of Rochester, we’ve been able to distribute more than 35 Hope Bags filled with socks, underwear, and t-shirts to these individuals. Bombas has also graciously agreed to send us an additional 1100 of these items in response to this unusual situation so that we can continue meeting people’s basic needs during this huge transition.

If you’re interested in learning more about the people and pathways of immigration in the United States and our opportunities to love and support these groups as a faith community, Seeking Refuge is a great place to start.

Pray, Share, Give

There are three ways you as donors and supporters can continue to play a part in our mission, allowing us to continue and expand the work we are doing here for our patients and for Rochester at His Branches.

1. Pray

In February, Governor Hochul announced His Branches as one of 127 recipients of New York State's Health Care Facility Transformation Program. The program is designed to reduce costs, expand access to healthcare, all while ensuring the sustainability of safety net providers. His Branches received commitments for $3.2 million dollars to renovate our current Arnett Clinic and expand our service offerings through the renovation of a space allowing for an additional location. To this date, funds have yet to be released to allow for work to commence. Pray that NYS would release these funds in order that we would be able to complete plans that allow us to meet our neighbors needs more efficiently and effectively in the days ahead.
As we’ve seen a high level of street crime directly impacting the businesses on our block, pray for healing and peace in our community as well as wisdom and compassion for our team as we start up a few new HBU (His Branches University) support groups this fall, including Grief, Trauma, and Pain Management.
Continue to pray for our staff to provide quality and compassionate care for our patients.

2. Share

Share about our mission with one person in your personal/professional network this month who might be willing to start investing (personally or corporately) in our work.
Share about our services with one person who may be in need of primary medical care to let them know we are accepting new patients and they can sign up directly through our website.

3. Give

If you have yet to invest in our mission, we’d love to chat more with you about questions you might have about how your finances will be leveraged for good. Please feel free to start a conversation with us by reaching out to our leadership with questions about our strategy and mission and how your gift (individual or corporate) will be put to use. We’d be glad to connect in the way most convenient for you. Or start your giving by clicking the box below.

GIVE