A SATC Reunion, Megan Thee Stallion, and More Moments Inside the 18th Annual Golden Heart Awards

New Yorkers will know that the vast dome at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights always defied logic. Considered an engineering marvel, it was scrappily constructed with humble red brick tiles that spanned across the colossal gothic building, originally supported by just a single steel tension rod. New Yorkers will also know that great things are often born from strength, solidarity, and steely determination, such as the beloved God’s Love We Deliver organization, which celebrated its Golden Heart Awards at the historic church on Monday evening.

“It’s a full circle moment,” Michael Kors, the charity’s ardent supporter, told Vogue. “The organization started as a tiny grassroots movement on the west side uptown in the basement of a church. We thought this tipped the hat to how much it's grown over the years; it started so small and now we’re able to celebrate all of the volunteers and staff in this kind of space.” 

Equally as awe-inspiring and mind-blowing as the building’s scale—which is the length of two football fields—is the work and reach of the organization. Founded in 1985 as an immediate and urgent response to the AIDS epidemic, what began as one hospice worker taking hot food to a sick patient would eventually grow to become the city’s most prolific provider of medically-tailored meals. Having experienced tremendous growth since the pandemic, in the last fiscal year alone, God’s Love We Deliver has cooked and delivered 4.3 million meals to more than 16,000 clients and their kids and caregivers: an all-time record.

Receiving the Michael Kors Award for Outstanding Philanthropy, actress and NYC poster woman Sarah Jessica Parker praised the “extraordinary institution of good” adding, “From its inception in the midst of an unthinkable crisis, God’s Love We Deliver has shined its spotlight and focused all its will and resources on a community that was, and still is occasionally, ignored.” Parker also took her own moment in the spotlight to graciously turn the attention to Pat Costello, “a heartbeat” of the charity since she joined as a volunteer in 1991, and whose commitment to the cause has been integral to its success.

Following an emotive speech from Costello and galvanizing remarks by God's Love We Deliver president and CEO David Ludwigson, who explained that the organization has doubled in size in the last five years and crucially needs funds to sustain this expansion, it was time for people to put their money where their mouth is. Spurred on by Harry Santa-Olalla, a frenetic paddle raise around the sold-out room amassed over $3 million—an unprecedented amount. 

As always, special attention was paid to the culinary experience. Guests were fed, from the heart, with a curated menu by Food Network personality, restaurateur, and Harlem mainstay, Melba Wilson. As attendees tucked into filet of beef with potato puree and braised collard greens after the excitement of the fundraising, the evening’s additional star honorees were next up.

Receiving the genLOVE Award for Outstanding Philanthropy in recognition of her organization the Pete & Thomas Foundation, Megan Thee Stallion paid tribute to her late family members. “I always get a little emotional talking about my parents. I lost my mom, I lost my dad, and I lost my grandmother. They are the people who taught me the importance of giving back. I never saw giving back as a chore or a struggle. Anything my [family] could give, they would give. So I’m continuing on with their legacy,” the Grammy Award-winning talent told the room full of “hotties” smiling back at her.

Rounding out the bold-faced trio of recipients, Oh, Mary! creator Cole Escola was presented with the award for Breakthrough Achievement in the Arts. “This organization was started by volunteers purely out of love—people who understood the power of food,” they said. “It’s a power I learned about this year. In February, my brother passed away. My friends rallied around me providing support, mostly in the form of food. Having people see my basic needs, taking time to plan and craft and deliver meals was the warmest, most loving feeling. At God’s Love We Deliver, they do that for complete strangers. I’m so moved by their work.”

The last treat on the menu? A performance by Sam Smith. Taking advantage of the acoustics in the venue and the novelty of being on stage in a church, the newly-minted New Yorker and God’s Love We Deliver’s latest volunteer recruit even gave a toned-down choral-esque rendition of Unholy…further blessing philanthropists with a night they’ll never forget.