CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They were nine corporate funders, executives who help decide where their company's philanthropy goes, walking the same route hundreds of Charlotte, N.C.'s working poor and homeless take every day.
It was cold and wet on a recent Thursday, a perfect day to learn about the homeless. The walk was part of a "homeless walking tour" that Maria Hanlin, executive director of Mecklenburg Ministries, leads for various groups several times a year.
This was the first time she'd led "corporate professionals," all members of CCAP (Charlotte Community Affairs Professionals), an organization of corporate funders.
"It was a powerful experience that they won't forget," Hanlin said. "It will impact how they view Charlotte, how they approach funding requests and how they understand poverty."
All nine started their Thursday catching a bus at 6 a.m. for uptown's transportation center, then had to figure out how to transfer by bus to Crisis Assistance Ministry on Spratt Street, west of uptown, where each day hundreds of the working poor line up for help with rent and utilities.
There, they listened to stories of the homeless and handed out muffins to those in line. Then they walked the three miles from Spratt Street to St. Peter's Soup Kitchen at the Urban Ministry Center on College Street -- a walk hundreds of homeless make each day.
Along the way, they stopped at camps of boxes used for shelter and under bridges where the homeless sleep. At the soup kitchen, they sat with the homeless and ate a bowl of soup and a cheese sandwich.
And they learned at least two important lessons: What it means to be poor and/or homeless, and how the donations from companies and thousands of Charlotte area residents are going to a noble cause of keeping people housed and fed.
"We all hear the numbers -- thousands of people (6,500) in Charlotte are homeless," said Kelly Chopus, director of community relations at Goodrich Corp. and CCAP's chair. "But when you walk on the train tracks and you see those camps and you see how people are actually living -- probably through no choice of their own -- it's really upsetting that we in this community allow that to happen.
"We need to make different choices to make that go away."
Chopus, like the others, was wet after the walk without umbrellas. She held out her hand, cold to the touch: "I've just had to deal with this for five hours. These people deal with this every day, all day."
George Baldwin, managing director of legislative and community affairs at Piedmont Natural Gas, messed up his bus connection and arrived late to Crisis Assistance. As he approached, he was startled to see so many people in line for help.
He listened to their stories, and thought: "These are people a step away from being very successful. But for making a bad choice, they would be.
"We saw our donations at work -- it was a rewarding morning seeing these people benefit from the contributions we all make," said Baldwin, next year's CCAP chair. "There was a lot of humanity on those faces. They were saying 'good morning' to me, when I should have been reaching out to them. People need to understand that these are just normal people.
"These are our neighbors. They deserve being treated with dignity."
Chopus and Baldwin planned to go back to their companies and blog or e-mail about their experience.
"We will encourage our employees to get engaged," Chopus said. "We are blessed. We have the potential to do something about this in this community."
Religion
Execs see what it's like to be homeless
- Religion
-
-
Norman church sends work, witness team to Belize
For eight days, 23 members of the Norman Community Church of the Nazarene built more than pews for a church in Belize, they also built friendships....
-
Church to participate in National Preach-In on Global Warming
Unity Church in Norman, 3001 S. Berry Road, will take part in the National Preach-In on Global Warming, from today until Sunday. The church will join more than 1,000 others participating nationwide in the third annual event, which is ...
-
The heart behind Trinity Lutheran School
Cheryl Anderson sees every day the power that education and faith can have on children. As administrator of Trinity Lutheran School and Childcare, Anderson is so passionate about the school that she is anxious to get the word out about ...
-
Holy Ascension Orthodox Christian Church plans open house Saturday
Holy Ascension Orthodox Christian Church is inviting Norman residents to an open house from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at 3350 12th Ave. NE....
-
Church briefs
St. Joseph’s to celebrate Mardi Gras St. Joseph’s Catholic Church will host its annual Mardi Gras celebration from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 18 in the parish center gymnasium, 421 E. Acres St. A New Orleans menu of pork shoulder, Cajun ...
-
Something is in the air
Reports of snow in the air are circulating as we prepare for this weekend. The weather forecasts are predicting snow by Sunday evening and our children (and their teachers) are dreaming of a snow day on Monday. Ahhhh, but something else is ...
-
Religion roundup
Church-wide garage sale Saturday St. Joseph Catholic Church will hold a church-wide garage sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Parish Center Gymnasium, 421 E. Acres St....
-
Relics of Saints to be installed at Our Lady of Lebanon
A local Catholic parish will celebrate the installation of relics on the feast day of its patron saint, Sunday....
-
Mondays can be revolutionary
Mondays are so hard, right? Ever felt the Monday morning blues? Many a song has been written about this challenging day. Who can forget the melodious voice of Karen Carpenter singing “Hangin’ around, nothing to do but frown; rainy days ...
-
What is the best way for people to live their faith?
Heart, soul, might Rabbi Mark Levin of Congregation Beth Torah, Overland Park, Kan.: Faith is the love and service of God. Deuteronomy 6:5 commands us to love God with all our “heart, soul and might.” Each person balances them differently, ...
- More Religion Headlines
-
