These wagon-pulling volunteers bring hats, hot drinks to people in Binghamton every week

Robin Ann Carter of Binghamton gives out hats, hot drinks and hugs to local homeless people every week.

“It doesn’t matter to me where you come from or what you look like,” she said. “I just love these guys.”

Carter is one of the founders and leaders of Warm for the Winter, also known as the Wagon Train Warriors. They give away food, clothing and other supplies to homeless people every week.

“It’s been on my heart for a long time,” she said. “When I see these homeless people, it just breaks my heart. I have a warm place to sleep. They don’t.”

Back in September, Carter teamed up with her sister, Sandi Lasky of Binghamton, and their spouses: Michael Carter and David Lasky. They gave away sandwiches and coats.

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Five months later, the group has grown to between 12 and 17 volunteers each week. They load up eight wagons full of large containers of soup, coffee, tea and hot cocoa along with clothes, blankets, tents and other supplies. They pull the wagons along the city’s riverwalk and outside the city bus station on Chenango Street and other areas where homeless people congregate.

“It’s just a way to reach people who are hungry and who are cold,” she said.

With the weather turning colder, the group has moved inside to the Crossroads of Life Church in downtown Binghamton. Her brother, Rev. Dann Travis, the church’s pastor, offered the use of the building to the group.

Other family members help the group serve soup and sandwiches to the homeless at the church every Monday evening including another sister, Brenda Salai. Carter’s son, Nicholas Hawley, is a chef who makes all the soups.

Wagon Train Warriors still go outside the bus station each week to feed people there. They also feed women who stay at the Broome County YWCA, Carter said.

Any leftover food is given away Tuesday mornings at the Broome County library, Carter said.

Along with food, Carter also dispenses hugs.

“We love on them,” she said. “I tell them all the time: I love you guys. I don’t care how dirty they are or how they smell.”

Every person they meet is treated with dignity and respect, she said.

“I just want them to know that they’re no different than me,” Carter said. “I want them to know that they’re respected, and they’re cared for.”

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Last month, the Wagon Warriors put on Christmas parties for both the women residents of the YWCA and their children and for homeless people who gathered at the library, Carter said.

This year, the group is starting a new venture. They are writing down the birthdays of the homeless people they encounter. Once a month, the group will celebrate their birthdays with cake and balloons.

“They don’t have family to say happy birthday,” she said.

Carter said she hopes her group continues to expand so that more people can get the help they need.

“I hope it continues to grow and grow,” she said. “I hope we get more wagons; and it takes us 20 minutes to cross the road because we have so many wagons.”

More about Robin Ann Carter

Home and Hometown: Binghamton

Career: Retired from the Susquehanna Nursing Home

Family: Husband, Michael; six grown children and 29 grandchildren

How to help: To volunteer or donate, find them on Facebook under #warmforthewinter or #thewagontrainwarriors

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton's Wagon Train Warriors deliver hats, hot drinks downtown