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Faith

Mark Mabry Follows Food From Restoring Love’s ‘Day of Service’ and Looks at Community Charity Up Close

Aug. 1, 2012 4:56pm

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Mark Mabry Looks at Community Charity Up Close From the moment I walked into the Irving Care Center, I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. When I saw Christine sitting at the help desk with a basket full of groceries I sized her up in short order. Shirt $50. Nice earrings. $500 wig. Cell phone. She didn’t have the quintessential “food bank” vibe that I was looking for in order to make myself feel good.

While we talked, she applied for assistance with her electric bill and about two weeks worth of staple groceries. Flour, milk, eggs, cereal and yes, pigs feet.

She told me her story. Surgery on her leg ran her out of sick days, and she became behind on her bills. By dialing 411 and asking for monetary and food help, she was routed to the Irving Care Center- a 501C3 that takes in approximately 1.3 million dollars in cash and food donations per year. A concerned citizens group in Irving, Texas, founded the center 55 years ago to alleviate hunger in their city.

In 2011 the Irving Care Center’s biggest sources of funding were Individual donations $351,996, Corporations $350,417, and In-kind food donations $258,223. They accepted $48,657 in grants on the municipal level which originated federally. Eight full-time employees are supported on 8% of that budget. Another 10% is spent on fundraising efforts. The remaining 82% goes to those who ask for assistance.

Christine’s electric bill was taken care of for the month. If she needed it, assistance with rent would be available once in a lifetime, but she would need to take a financial responsibility course to receive it.

She let me follow her home. Her car is a blue Kia Sephia in pretty good shape. Driving behind her I thought of ways to spin the story, to lie in order to help people feel better about helping someone in need. I had always imagined the person getting the food that I donated to be a starving child, or well… a starving child. That’s all I really ever pictured.

Christine’s apartment was decent. There was a TV, nice dining table, microwave, treadmill, and cool art on the walls. This didn’t compute. An open Bible sat on her counter, turned to Psalms.

She unpacked the groceries. The bag of cereal was one of the bags that Mercury One donated. The truck from Mercury One’s Restoring Love event came yesterday and delivered enough food to stock the entire pantry for two weeks. It was the biggest donation that the Irving Care Center had received all year.

The pigs’ feet were from a local grocer who freezes the meat just prior to expiration and donates it to the center weekly. Several bread stores do the same with their inventory that is about to get out of date.

“What do you do if it get’s out of date?” I asked.

“Well, if it’s still good, we feed the people. We’re protected by good Samaritan laws that prohibit lawsuits for well intended people who feed the needy,” answered the volunteer coordinator.

I stood in Christine’s kitchen and learned about her family. I looked at pictures of her husband ,who passed away three years ago, and her four grandkids. She is going back to work tomorrow for the first time in two weeks. She confided that asking for help was awkward, but she needed it and didn’t know where to turn. I looked at her Bible and thought of the Good Samaritan, who didn’t ask if the injured man was poor, he just knew that a man was in need.

She turned to the people, people that she didn’t know and who didn’t know her. She wasn’t always poor, nor would she be. It was a down time for Christine and private Americans helped her. Corporate donations helped her. Churches and the United Way helped her. Less than four percent of the funding that the Irving Care Center comes from the government.

Below is a slideshow of images from my trip with Christine

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Comments (27)

Robert Hawk
Posted on August 30, 2012 at 7:59pm
We are all judged according to our works, every one that pitched in and gave to this cause will partake in that judgement for a righteous act done well.

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OniKaze
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 5:32pm
@GoodStuff

You have a valid point, but you could word it better. I think I understand what you are saying, but many will take that the wrong way.

Beck always talks about a “Hand-up, not a Hand-out” but a Hand-out is what most of that event ended up being…

Was it generous? Yes…. Did it help people? Yes… Should you be happy people were helped? Sure.. Should those that helped feel good about it? Definitely.. But did it SOLVE anything? Not as much as people like to think. It really just delayed the problems that most of those individuals face..

Simple truth it.. There is no simple solution to helping others, besides encouraging and ensuring that they help themselves…

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UnkaB
Posted on August 2, 2012 at 12:08pm
I agree COMPLETELY with giving folks a “hand up” in times of need. And, keeping an eye where and how resources sent for help are being used. Glen has APPROPRIATELY spoken at length about the Navajo needing the help the help they got. Now, how about the ENTIRE tribal nations especially those that make mega-millions at their casinos use some of their profits to educate their brothers. Build schools….clinics….all of which would generate jobs for those in need. This may already being done. Just a thought. I have not really explored.

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GoodStuff
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 11:32pm
Give a man a fish…or teach him to fish. Beck, sadly, has chosen the former. “Day of Service” sounds like something Commie Obama came up with.

I’ll take Beck seriously again when he overcomes this wealth guilt thing he’s suffering from, when he stops this absurd narcissism, and when he holds massive entrepreneurial conventions that actually create jobs and economic growth, as oppossed to this leftist Day of Service nonsense. Oh, and when he stops crying.

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- mm_vcdl
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 12:06am
  Goodstuff: So you equate 1) private people giving private donations to charitable organizations with 2) governmental confiscation of the citizens’ money to be mostly squandered but maybe partially distributed to folks who are chronically attached to the government’s teat? Did I get that right? Because it sounds like what you said.
  
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- GingerHC
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 12:47am
  So, Goodstuff… how many jobs have you created for others?
  
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- AzDebi
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 1:16am
  Goodstuff: Why don’t you go somewhere else and spread your “love”…you serve no purpose here, We are so far past where you are that even this message is just too much trouble to bother typing.
  
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- PATTY HENRY
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 6:15am
  GOODSTUFF….how lovely to be able to “know” Glenn so well, to be the JUDGE that you are. Must be jolly grand. GLENN and us via him, donated to FOOD BANKS. In the end, duffus, GOD directs what happens to what we give. The Deal is that WE GIVE IT. PS hotshot: GLENN is teaching a lot more than how to fish. He is reminding us along with his Black Robe Brigade, that our Renewal in the USA comes from each one of us. Go on and think what you think, but what I think is that what you think stinks.
  
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- ComingUnglued
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 7:54am
  Why do you listen to him then? Everyone has a choice, you choose to listen or not.
  You choose to help or not. I for one am tired of writing a check and not know where it is going.
  For instance, I write a check to Susan B Komen Foundation for cancer research, and they take it upon themselves to donate my money to Planned Parenthood, the biggest baby killing machine in this country. Not one more penny to them. or organizations like the,.
  
  I will put my money where my heart is, someplace that I believe in or where I think it will do the most good.
  
  I heard people say, why go to Dallas? If you want to give money away I could have done so much more if I wrote a check. Why, so it could go to some nameless, faceless organization.
  
  What did I get out of going to Restoring Love? I was losing hope, not anymore.
  I realized that we can’t sweep people out of sight and think the problems of food and shelter have gone away. But I also think that people are scamming the system. I want my money to go to people who are truly in need. I think the churches may be better equipped to know then the government.
  
  I will take what I have learned and apply that in my own backyard.
  
  Thanks Glenn.
  
  Report this comment
- optimisticallypessimisticrealist
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:29am
  @goodstuff
  The leftist day of service would look very different. We had those back in the USSR. They were MANDATORY volunteer days (called Subbotnik; look it up in Wikipedia). Try to miss one and see what happens.
  This is a private citizen calling on other private citizens to do something about the poverty, hunger etc. There is no guilt in here – just a desire to do something for someone else. Why is it so difficult to accept?
  This is the problem with our society: cynicism. We no longer believe in anyone’s pure intentions. We only judge by the way we think and do; and we don’t strive to be better. Very sad.
  
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- iwillnotbequiet
  Posted on August 3, 2012 at 3:31am
  ?goodstuff? please don’t come back it’s ok we can make it without your help…no no please just go sit in the corner. I’m sure Beck as you call him will live without you too. Your thoughts are just too deep for the rest of us so why don’t you find your kind and spread your smarts with them? God bless and goodby..I know you would rather come here and make a fool of yourself..oh well I tried.
  
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lt1776
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:37pm
How sad it is that some people cannot see the good from this event. Lives were changed….and for the better. Get a clue, really.

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- GoodStuff
  Posted on August 1, 2012 at 11:27pm
  —”Lives were changed….and for the better. Get a clue, really.”
  
  Lives we’re not changed. What happened was, the national scourge of “dependence” was perpetuated. America needs a Day of Jobs, not a Day of Service. Giving things to people only creates dependence; whether that giving comes from private charities or public welfare. It destroys a person’s self-worth and removes their incentive to get a job. They don’t pay-it-forward, they only look forward to the next time someone gives them something for free.
  
  When will you guys realize that Beck is in the beginning stages of wealth guilt, even if he won’t admit it. He needs to assuage his wealth guilt. But, also this is about him patting himself on the back. It’s pure narcissism at this point: “Witness the Third Great Awakening!!” ??@!#!$ Really?!??!?
  
  Again, America needs jobs, not charity.
  
  Report this comment
- Jezcruzen
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 7:39am
  I can’t know Beck’s heart, but Goodstuff raising a valid point. Giving away more free stuff to people who have been getting free stuff all along isn’t helpful. It only allows those giving it away to feel good about themselves – like they have really done something. You can make up a tee-shirt and wear it around advertising how really good you are! So pat yourselves on the back, those of you who participated in this latest wholesale giveaway. In two weeks those people you gave to will be right back where they were – getting more free stuff from government programs and all of you, including Beck, can move on to the next big idea.
  
  There is a reason that national parks post signs that say: “DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS” What do you think the reason for that sign is?
  
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Delores at CH WV
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:28pm
I hope she feels better soon. Don’t ever be too proud to accept a gift, especially food. God loves givers and receivers. Just make sure you pay back the community who helps you. Helping your neighbors is a great give back. Get to know them. You will be surprised of how many people do not have family or they live too far away to help. So, introduce yourself . . . and serve.

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Thewayiseeit
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:00pm
I was there, I worked my **** off & it felt great!
I am home now & checking around to see if there is a local charity I can work with to help those who would benefit from my skills.

I REFUSE to just forget how I felt, seeing tears of joy in the eyes of those who received not just “STUFF” but the smiles, Hugs & conversation with someone who CARED about them.

Government can’t give that,

but I CAN
mow lawns for those too old or just unable,
teach a young person to fix there Bicycle & maybe a career,
help that single mom or dad with their car that just needs a little love to be safe & comfortable for them & their family again.
So many things, None difficult, but to someone without the knowledge of finances, are far from their reach. But not mine & I can use that knowledge or skill to improve Lives.
I can teach those skills as well & now that person can become an even greater asset to their community, giving them a healthy self-image & confidence, not a passive disregard for society.

What does it take?
Some of my time, given from the heart to those who need!

What do I gain?
A Safer community,
People who no longer feel like refuse,
a better understanding of what my community needs to be balanced!
And very often, Friends!

I look forward to doing more to help my new friends, neighbors & Community!

Thanks Glenn,
I needed the kick in the **** to get me moving!

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- HappyHaloHousewife
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 8:04am
  Excellent stuff. Thank you for your great example.
  
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wisebeyond
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 6:54pm
With her Bible open… she prayed. Her cupboard filled with food… her heart perhaps with Love! Lets love and care whenever possible.

Lets ingnore the people who want to bring us down… they waste time and energy hating people they never met… if they are ever in need… it will be the people they hate that will step up to help them through their own bump in the road. God Bless America and Americans.

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christos
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 6:10pm
You can’t always surmise clothing costs by what people are wearing Super Generous people donate expensive clothing to Goodwill Stores.

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theorybattledotcom
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:55pm
there is a forum on http://www.theorybattle.com about how freedom trumps communism when the hearts of the people are free to do as they choose. Share and compare and debate there please!

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HorseDancer
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:27pm
Day of Service?

“This is what you get when you elect a radical socialist as president.Forget about the terrorists — go serve soup.” – Gateway Pundit
“The call for service is inappropriate and sacrilegious. He cannot fake a love for his country, nor does it appear that he wants to.” – Pam Gellar
“The rape of a sacred memory” – Glenn Beck

Such were the words from the right when President Obama announced a 9/11 Day of Service. But it’s OK when Beck attaches the concept to a giant T-shirt sale in Cowboys Stadium. What’s that? You say it’s different because Glenn’s day of service didn’t happen on 9/11?

OK, then where was your outrage when this was said, “Many ask, ‘What can I do to help in our fight?’ And the answer is simple. All of us can become a September the 11th volunteer by making a commitment to service in our own communities. You can serve your country by tutoring or mentoring a child, comforting the afflicted, housing those in need of shelter. Whatever your talent, whatever your background, each of you can do something.”

That was George W. Bush.

Face it, folks, you’re chronic whiners. Just when America needs us all more than ever, you insist on being part of the problem.

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- DoomsdayProphet
  Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:47pm
  Obamas day of service was political. Not for charity and if you really believe that glenn beck is faking just leave his sites.
  
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- HorseDancer
  Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:58pm
  DUMBDAYPROFIT . . . Sorry, just too much stacked up against you and Glenn and his T-shirtpalooza to call it anything but hypocrisy. You see, he knows you won’t remember this stuff, or you will willfully set the contradiction aside, but not me. I just love my country. And I fear for it.
  
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- BoyScout_Mom
  Posted on August 1, 2012 at 9:37pm
  Horse: The difference is as simple to distinguish between those who have “Class” and those who DO NOT. September 11th is, and should always be, a day of solemn “REMEBRANCE,” to Grieve for each of the Innocent Citizens (Men, Women, Children, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents) of our County who were viciously, brutually, without provocation MURDERED by SubHuman BloodThirsty Heretical Zealots…..
  
  It Should Never Be… a Day “Changed” into a Feel-Good Photo-OP for The Dear Leader and Organizer to profit off of politically.
  
  I do hope you remember all of the “Background” WH memos and directives, and DNC insider memos that were released by DEM-Bos… angrily stating that ALL Remebrances of 9/11 Must Somehow be REPLACED to “Something Else,” so that the country will not somehow REWARD the Republican PARTY with political points…. Gast!
  
  Grow a Brain, you Kool-Aid Drinker
  
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- JustPeachy
  Posted on August 1, 2012 at 10:01pm
  Horse, one question:
  
  Were you there?
  
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Salamander
Posted on August 1, 2012 at 5:19pm
Here’s someone who, when she gets back on her feet, will do more for many than was ever done for her! She is the leverage that PRIVATE charity generates, not the dependence that PUBLIC charity enslaves!

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- dat bee
  Posted on August 2, 2012 at 12:16am
  This dear humble lady was given a hand up in a time of trial, not a handout. She has gone back to work. Yes, as a lady of humility and integrity, She will give back and again be blessed. Those of us who served on projects in the day of Service have been richly blessed. I would paint a warehouse in 100 degree temperature again if needed. This is love gained and given in service.
  
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