November Meeting: The Poor People’s Campaign Themes

Our Rio Texas MFSA Zoom meeting on Thursday, November 11 will focus on the Poor People’s Campaign, and will be led by Pat Stewart.

In 2018, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival released its Poor People’s Moral Agenda & Declaration of Fundamental Rights.  Its demands address systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and a distorted moral narrative that keeps these systemic injustices intact.  The connections between these five themes are why we must continue to build power among the 140 million poor & dispossessed of this nation.  Fight poverty, not the poor.

Join us at the Rio Texas MFSA meeting to discuss these five themes.  We will also view a short video on William Barber, one of the founders of the Poor People’s Campaign.  This will be followed by an exchange of ideas on the topic of what being poor means in Texas.

The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm.  Please join us!

To Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87823580342?pwd=YzI4czAyTzN1RHdlbkdweStRQ3RQZz09

Austin Crop Hunger Walk

March 1, 2020
2:00 pm Registration; 2:30 pm Grand Step-Off

Camp Mabry
2200 W. 35th St.
ID Required for all adults

www.austincrophungerwalk.org

New This Year:
Tiny Tails Petting Z00
Austin Ukelele Society

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Around Austin

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is November 16-24, 2019

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless, is an annual program where people come together across the country to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness. Participating groups spend the week holding a series of educational, service, fundraising, and advocacy events.

Did you know?

In the United States

Many Americans are living on the edge, forced to choose between basic necessities like purchasing food, paying rent, or going to the doctor.

43.1 million – Americans live below the poverty level

549,000 Americans are homeless on a typical night

42 million Americans are at risk of suffering from hunger

1 in 5 children in the U.S. live in poverty

Worldwide

While there has been slow but steady progress over the past thirty years, there are still a tremendous number of people around the world who live in extreme poverty.

795 million people do not have enough to eat

767 million people live on $1.90 a day or less

6 children die each minute of a hunger-related disease

65.3 million refugees have been driven out of their homes

What You Can Do

As a society, we have the resources and knowledge to end hunger and homelessnesss — we just need the collective will to make these ideas a reality.

Wednesday, November 13
The Hidden Homeless in Austin: Children & Families
Join the LBJ Future Forum as we learn about the solutions for families and children who are homeless in our community, what’s still needed, and what we can do as a community to help. Doors open at 6 p.m., the conversation is from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and a reception will follow. Free parking will be available in the LBJ Library visitors’ lot located at 2313 Red River Street. This program is sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance.

Sunday, November 17
26th Annual Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service
Caritas of Austin will be hosting the Annual Homeless Memorial Service to recognize the women, men and children whom have lived and died in Austin while homeless and living in poverty. Service will start at sunrise (around 6:58 a.m.), naming of all whom have passed this year (2019). Service will be at the following address: Homeless Memorial, 9307 Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail.

Together at the Table

 

Together at the Table
Hunger & Poverty Summit
at Baylor University

Hosted by The Texas Hunger Initiative

October 2-4, 2019

https://www.baylor.edu/texashunger/index.php?id=89082

CROP Hunger Walk

Austin CROP Hunger Walk

Sunday, February 24
2:00 p.m. Registration and 2:30 Step-off

Camp Mabry, 2200 West 35th Street

 

The Austin CROP Hunger Walk is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, February 24 at Camp Mabry. This is a family-friendly interfaith community event raising funds for hungry people around the world and right here in Austin. This year the CROP Hunger Walk is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Walk.

https://www.crophungerwalk.org/austintx

National Coalition for the Homeless

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is November 10-18,
sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Around Austin

Sunday, November 11, 4:00-8:00 p.m.
Red White & Blues 512
Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater 
Red, White & Blues 512 | House Our Heroes Blues Festival, a fundraiser created to help veterans experiencing homelessness, was founded by a small group of friends who were inspired by the collaborative efforts happening in Austin to end veteran homelessness. This year’s event features The Nightowls, Black Pumas, Shinyribs, and Samantha Fish. Don’t miss it!

Wednesday, November 14, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Community Conversation: Ending Youth Homelessness
Temple Beth Shalom, 7300 Hart Lane
Austin is ready to end youth homelessness together! Learn about our innovative new program at this Community Conversation and be part of the community-wide strategy to end youth homelessness. Speakers from Caritas of Austin, LifeWorks, and SAFE Alliance will share information about Austin’s Community Plan to End Youth Homelessness, answer your questions, and help you find ways to get involved. Lunch will be provided. Space is limited, so RSVP to save your seat!

Sunday, November 18
26th Annual Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service 
Vic Mathias Shores
We will read the names of all the homeless people who died in Austin over the past year at this one hour service. The Homeless Memorial is located at South First Street and Riverside Drive, 75 yards west of the Fanny Davis Gazebo and about 75 yards east of the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue. There should be plenty of parking at the parking area which you can access from 900 Riverside Drive. Once you park, simply walk to the river and turn left. You will see us gathering on the right at the Homeless Memorial.

Hunger and Poverty Summit

Wednesday, November 7, 12:30 p.m. – Friday, November 9, 12:30 p.m.

There are numerous organizations across the country working to find solutions to hunger and poverty.  With so much going on in so many different places, it can be difficult to find time to come together to share experiences and learn best practices.  For nearly 10 years, Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative has served as a convener—bringing together diverse stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to hunger.

This fall, THI will host is seventh Together at the Table Hunger & Poverty Summit.  The summit brings together 400-500 attendees from across the country for three days of focused learning on Baylor’s campus and includes:

  • six plenary sessions;
  • more than 50 different breakout sessions; and
  • experts on the latest developments in public policy, effective community organizing strategies, and cutting-edge research.

Sessions will be organized into tracks including:

  • anti-hunger and anti-poverty policy;
  • research;
  • coalition building;
  • child hunger;
  • faith-based solutions;
  • senior hunger; and
  • hunger and health.

Space is limited, so register today!  And make sure to visit www.texashunger.org for updates and more information.

We hope to see you there!

Hope Food Pantry

An Evening of Hope
The Ripple Effect

Sunday, April 8, 2018, 5:30pm

Trinity United Methodist Church

4001 Speedway, Austin

Reserve your tickets by emailing
info@hopefoodpantryaustin.org

Crop Hunger Walk

 The Austin CROP Hunger Walk is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, February 25 at Camp Mabry.  Registration opens at 2:00 with the Step-Off at 2:30.

 

Register and raise funds online—it’s easy! Go to www.crophungerwalk.org/austintx to sign up.

 

Thank you Austin Hunger Heroes – $72,614.47 raised at the 2017 Walk.

 

YOU make the difference

2017 Report from the Hope Food Pantry

Hope Food Pantry Austin is held up high by all of your contributions and dedication!   Together, we are a powerhouse of support for hundreds of families.   The ripple effect of relief and sustenance to the families in search of our services for 2017 was to:

  • Distribute food equivalent to 170,809 meals.
  • Purchase eggs, meat, and other staples each week to ensure availability to ALL.
  • Rescue 48,358 pounds of fresh produce/food and 1080 pounds of fresh flowers from:

Trader Joe’s, Natural Grocers, Whole Foods, and Pepperidge Farm.

  • Collect 65,983 pounds of food from community food drives.
  • Provide 450 backpacks full of nutritious food to AISD students in need.
  • Expand the Hope Closet and Children’s library.

Thank you for your wonderful and dedicated volunteer service to helping others in their time of need.

Foundation for the Homeless Fundraiser

8th Annual Spirit of Compassion Awards
Saturday, November 19, 6:00 p.m.
Archer Hotel at the Domain

This awards ceremony recognizes donors, community leaders and business leaders who make a difference in our community. Spirit of Austin Honors donors who have modeled a spirit of generous giving to Foundation for the Homeless and other community organizations engaged in the fight against hunger, homelessness and poverty.

There is a good seed in every heart. Attend to it with compassion. Shower it with hope. Warm it with love. And it will grow and bloom abundantly for generations to come.

Free Store / Common Good Community Development

The Free Store is back!

The Free Store found a new home at Memorial UMC, 6100 Berkman Drive, Austin.  On Wednesday, March 8, we’ll have our first shopping day in the new space.

You can follow all the news about the Free Store’s relocation at our website:  www.freestoreaustin.org

From District Lay Leader Brooks Schuelke:  When we started the Free Store, we never wanted it to be a ministry by itself.  Instead, we created Common Good Community Development, Inc.  We imagined it as a hub and spoke type arrangement.  Common Good was the hub. The Free Store was the first spoke, but it was never intended to be the only spoke.

Over the years, we’ve been approached by a number of different groups with different ideas about how they could also partner with Common Good and the Free Store.  Up until now, we’ve not found the right fit.

Until now.

I am happy to say that our first real partner, and the next spoke in our hub, is the Hope Food Pantry.

Many of you are already familiar with the Hope Food Pantry.  It’s housed in Trinity and is supported by a number of our churches throughout the district.

In many ways, nothing will change.  Hope Food Pantry will continue to operate as it has.

But our working and coordinating together also brings endless possibilities of how Hope and the Free Store can work together.  We don’t know exactly what that will look like, but we’re all excited about the future.

To learn more about us, visit our website:  http://www.commongoodaustin.org/

Hope Food Pantry

Join us on Sunday, April 2, 2017, 5:30p.m., Trinity Church of Austin for a dinner and silent auction to support the pantry and its mission to help alleviate hunger in our community.  Tickets will go on sale in February/March 2017.

If you have a silent auction item to contribute please contact Stephanie at email below.

Other ways to help:
1. Volunteer once a month or more on Thursday or Friday a.m.
2. Coordinate a Food Drive through a group/work/community.
3. Randall’s Remarkable card holders: place #3830 on your card and donate to Hope.  A Randall’s employee can help you.

Contact: Stephanie at info@hopefoodpantryaustin.org

 

 

 

iACT – Austin CROP Hunger Walk

CROPLogo2010HiRes-300x195February 26
Camp Mabry, 2200 West 35th Street

Thank you Austin – more than $78,000 raised in 2016.
Help us hit our $82,000 Goal in 2017!

Sunday
February 26, 2017
Camp Mabry

2200 West 35th Street

2:00 pm Registration
2:30 pm Step Off

The Austin CROP Hunger Walk is sponsored locally by iACT.  The Austin CROP Hunger Walk celebrates interreligious participation from six world religions in 2012—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Unitarian Universalist, and Druze communities. Neighbors of different ages, faiths, and backgrounds—walking together.  It is a beautiful testimony of what makes Austin great!

 

Register and raise funds online—it’s easy! Go to www.crophungerwalk.org/austintx to sign up.

Hope Food Pantry

Join us on Sunday, April 2, 2017, 5:30p.m., Trinity Church of Austin for a dinner and silent auction to support the pantry and its mission to help alleviate hunger in our community.  Tickets will go on sale in February/March 2017.

If you have a silent auction item to contribute please contact Stephanie at email below.

Other ways to help:
1. Volunteer once a month or more on Thursday or Friday a.m.
2. Coordinate a Food Drive through a group/work/community.
3. Randall’s Remarkable card holders: place #3830 on your card and donate to Hope.  A Randall’s employee can help you.

Contact: Stephanie at info@hopefoodpantryaustin.org