Business has slowed for most restaurants, but the Killar family cafe has never been busier... keeping hundreds of families fed during the pandemic.
On a typical day, the South End Children's Cafe would feed 60 kids after school. Right now, there is no after school - but the demand on the cafe has never been higher. Many parents are facing unemployment and other challenges associated with the coronavirus crisis. Simply getting their children fed is a daily concern. On these atypical days, Lily Killar '20 and her family are making meals for more than 350 families everyday.
Lily's mom, Tracie, had worked in nonprofit her entire career. When she turned 50, she decided to make nonprofit work the family business. Tracie opened the South End Children's Cafe, an after school sanctuary for kids 4 to 12 in Albany's South End. Opening a business is hard work, especially when there's no profit to be made. Lily, the youngest of six children, decided her mom could use her undivided attention. So, five years ago, she took a gap year after high school and helped build the cafe.
Lily said the gap year was difficult, but at the same time, she wasn't concerned about delaying her career because she had no idea what her career would be. She wanted to help people. She wanted to help children. At that time, helping her mom was the best way to do it.
Once the cafe, and its after school programming, was up and running, Lily planned to leave Albany for college. Two reasons, though, kept her tethered to the Capital Region: 1) the kids at the Cafe, and 2) she toured Siena and fell in love.
At Siena, her passion for children's advocacy has taken intellectual roots. She plans to attend law school and pursue juvenile justice. Plus, she's been able to continue her service at the cafe, and for the past several weeks, it's been a neighborhood lifeline.
A full staff of volunteers is sidelined due to social gathering restrictions. So, Lily and her family are taking donations from the community, prepping the meals, and ensuring they're delivered to families in need... right now, that's hundreds of families a day. Other programs provide breakfast and lunch, but the Cafe is the only program in the area delivering dinners.
Lily estimates spending about 40 hours a week at the cafe, and even in times of social distancing - her connection to the children goes far beyond meal prep.
“I'm spending this quarantine in a home with my family. But imagine not having a home and being squeezed into a shelter with 60 people. Kids are kids. They're resilient. I just want to see them happy every day and excited to learn. Especially in these challenging times, I want to give them something to smile about."
Lily Killar '20