Her work is her passion. Her passion is The INN. As the Executive Director of The Interfaith Nutrition Network (The INN), Jean Kelly "leads by example" in the words of Board President John McAteer - and the example is one that leaves her colleagues searching for superlatives.

Under Kelly's leadership The INN has become the largest social service agency of its kind in Nassau and Suffolk Counties devoted to feeding people who are hungry and sheltering those who are homeless. The INN grew from humble beginnings to serve more than six million meals and house upwards of 50-thousand men, women and children.
"Jean has touched the world," says Sr. Elaine Hanson RSM, one of Kelly's former teachers at of Our Lady of Mercy Academy (OLMA) in Syosset, adding, "I feel humbled in her presence."

The INN's co-founder Patricia O'Connor says, "I have never met a more highly principled woman. I am in awe of Jean."
The story of The INN began in 1983 with a notice placed in The Long Island Catholic. Michael Moran, then a Chaplain at Hofstra University had been taking students to work at a soup kitchen in Brooklyn. O'Connor, already a volunteer in Brooklyn, told him of the need for a soup kitchen closer to home. So he advertised for volunteers. 30 people responded, among them Jean Kelly, then a fast-riser in the corporate world as an executive at a Long Island advertising agency. This band of warriors, determined to battle hunger, was unstoppable and within three months The INN was born. The setbacks were many but, like all great efforts, it prevailed. An effort that began as one lonely soup kitchen in a Hempstead storefront was to become an organization that manages 19 soup kitchens on Long Island, serving more than 5500 meals a week.

While the original mission was to feed hungry people, it soon came clear that was not the only challenge. Many of the guests, as they are called with reverence, would arrive from their "home" of a cardboard box or car. In less than a year the first emergency shelter was opened. Now The INN administers four emergency shelters caring for some 100 people a week. Support services involving clinical social workers and training in life skills and vocations are provided. The INN has also collaborated with another agency, New Ground, to create a long-term housing program where families and individuals are given an opportunity to attain economic independence.

"The INN represents a beacon to people who are in need," said John McAteer, The President of The INN's Board of Directors, a partner in the accounting firm of Holtz Rubenstein Reminick LLP. "So many of us," McAteer notes, "are a paycheck away from being a guest at The INN."

"When I think of why I am able to do this kind of work," Kelly reflects, " I see people who are in need who do not have a voice. The INN is their voice. It is a special privilege to be able to work with people on this level."

Kelly honed her business skills during more than 20 years in the corporate world, first as vice president of a Long Island-based advertising agency and then as marketing manager for a leading manufacturing company. Motivated by the ad agency's director Nat Pitt, Kelly was able to translate her gifts seamlessly to the non-profit world.

The INN lives up to its name - literally. Take Christmas, for example. Once again this year, on Christmas morning the Mary Brennan INN; the INN's largest soup kitchen in Hempstead; will be staffed by members of the Suburban Temple in Wantagh. These gentle folks prepare and serve a holiday dinner to a standing room only crowd, donating their time and energy so their Christian colleagues can be home with their families.

Kelly often begins her holidays at the Mary Brennan INN, greeting volunteers and the guests with her trademark smile, putting them at ease and listening to their stories. Her visits to INN facilities are so frequent, another former teacher at Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Sr. Monica Henkemeier RSM, remarked about her former student, "All the guests knew Jean."

A former classmate, Pat DiLollo, observed, "Jean embodies the Mercy spirit of caring and giving back and respect for one another."

It was as The INN's first coordinator of volunteers that met her husband, Rob Kammerer, who also became one of the early volunteers at The INN's first soup kitchen. A professor at The College of Aeronautics in Queens, Kammerer has been a tireless volunteer at The INN doing everything from carpentry to cooking, serving on the Board of Directors since the start, heading The INN's fund-raising committee and overseeing the annual INNkeepers Ball which raises more than 20 percent of the funds for The INN's day to day operations.

Kammerer says, "Jean is such a natural at connecting with people. She has this innate wisdom. She is drenched with so much humility."

Dignity is a word associated with The INN which has been lauded for the manner with which it treats its guests, with its "no questions asked" policy. Yet dignity, as defined by The INN, is a two-way street. Kelly says that over the past 21- plus years the dignity embodied by each guest has never faltered - whether they be young or old, man or woman - circumstances not withstanding.

With the cold weather here, The INN sees more and more guests at its doorstep. Kelly notes the number of homeless people on Long Island is once again on the rise, attributing this to the lack of affordable housing and the lack of a living wage - giving birth to what has become known as the "working poor. "

She says, "Unfortunately, homelessness is really hidden on Long Island. People hide between buildings, live in 24-hour laundromats and fast food places that are open 24 hours. Some live in cars."

As The INN has grown to address the needs of the growing homeless population, Kelly's work schedule has kept pace. She knows no typical days. Her life is 24-7, explaining, "I try my best to be present for everyone." This involves committee and staff meetings, many at night and on weekends, evening talks before civic groups and meetings with donors, not to mention frequent visits to shelters and soup kitchens.

Kelly's service and dedication has earned her numerous awards. Among them: recognition by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 2001 Birthday Celebration Committee of Nassau County; 2003 Woman of Distinction Honor from the New York State Senate, Molloy College 2003 Caritas Medal; Long Island Business News Top 50 Long Island Women in 2003 and the June 2004 Sandy Lenz Memorial Community Service Award from the Health and Welfare Council saluting Kelly's Outstanding Advocacy on Behalf of Long Island's Vulnerable.

Mindful of the stress placed on her employees by the nature of their work, Kelly instituted what she calls "Wellness Days"- where staffers are given additional paid time off. In addition, Kelly herself shares with her employees the importance, as she phrases it, of "taking care of the spirit." Last year she organized a two-day staff retreat that focused on team building and soul-searching and she recently completed a personal three-week silent retreat that she describes as "powerful" that reminded her "we are all the same and we need to take care of ourselves if we ever hope to take care of others."

Kelly speaks of her staff with love, as the staff does of her. And, that love extends to the volunteers who help make The INN -- The INN. Asked what qualities she looks for in people interested in giving of their time she put at the top - a ready smile. Also "able-bodied people," who are "not quick to judge" and who can "leave their ego at the door" can find any number of volunteer opportunities at The INN.
In addition to food, The INN accepts used clothing and provides a place where guests can "shop" free. Located at The Mary Brennan INN, the tidy rows of rolling racks of donated men's, women's and children's apparel, including shoes, rival that of any fine store.

Kelly pictures the "frozen hands" and "grimaces" worn by those fighting the cruelty of the cold. This time of year there is a constant need for hats, gloves and scarves. Add to that a need for dark colored socks, which, Kelly said, with a little creativity, can double as mittens. Of course, with the gift-giving season upon us, The INN also has a need for unwrapped toys.

The Mary Brennan INN may be one of the few soup kitchens that also offers its guests a warm shower. This amenity inspired a touching story Kelly shared about a guest and his mother's wish for her young son: One day a guest told her that when he was a little boy, his mother said to him - "you will be successful when you are wearing Brooks Brothers clothing." Little did he know that one of the many corporate donors to The INN is Brooks Brothers - which supplies underwear for the guests who shower at The Mary Brennan INN. So when this gentleman noticed the label on the clothing he was given, inspiration filled his soul as he told Kelly, "This is a sign." Suddenly his mother's wishes were real again. Another story written by a guest who learned first-hand that The INN not only feeds hungry bodies. It nourishes their souls as well.

Anyone wishing to donate holiday toys, gloves, scarves or hats to The INN may bring them to The Mary Brennan INN, 100 Madison Ave., Hempstead 11550. For directions or information call The INN
at 516-486-6243.