News > April 24, 2008

By Chantel O’Neal | Staff writer

Every Saturday morning at the corner of Patterson and East 11th, a group of about 25 university students can be found feeding the homeless. Some help pass out the sandwiches, while others spend time chatting with the people.

“It’s like one big picnic. They all sit in the grass with their food and talk to us,” freshmen volunteer Kelsey Girard said.

“I love hearing their stories and just listening to their wisdom and what they’ve been through in life.”

Choosing to meet in what is called the homeless campus, the rendezvous is strategically located within walking distance of four different shelters.

“We definitely chose to put ourselves in the heart of it,” Jordan Jones, co-founder of the outreach, said.

Seniors Jones, Eric Lange and Richard Roberts started the outreach in February 2007.

It first began as a simple way of serving the community and building relationships.

“Once we discovered what was going on, we felt the need to get more involved in the situation,” Lange said.

With roast beef sandwiches and hot chocolate, they were hoping to serve around a dozen people on that first day.

“We are trying to make connections, and the food is just a way to attract people,” Lange said.

“We go down there with as little of an agenda as possible. We just want to let relationships develop and see where they take us.”

Anyone wanting to participate is welcome to get involved, but getting the word out is not a high priority.

“We try not to publicize it too much, because we don’t want to make it an event where you just come and then you leave,” Lange said.

Because the connections are the primary focus, most of the volunteers are drawn by friends inviting friends.

“We’re like one big family,” Jones said.

“We don’t want to become an institution, so we really don’t emphasize the numbers,” Lange said.

Nevertheless, the group has progressively continued to grow.

Close to 100 students come out and volunteer at different times and approximately 200 people are served each week.

For the most part, the funding that makes this service possible comes directly from Jones, Lange and Roberts.

Churches and other individuals have also donated food and money toward the cause.

“I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but a lot of my reason to go out there is my spirituality,” Lange said.

In spite of this and the fact that most of their support is from Christian ministries, their purpose is not to witness to the community. “If you are out there trying to preach, then that changes your relationship with the people – and that’s not what we want,” Lange said.

The group remains unaffiliated with any particular ministry or program.

“We like to keep things as simple as possible, because it’s a lot easier to connect with other people – and that’s what we’re all about,” Lange said.

Passing out food is just one of the ways that this group has helped the homeless of Winston-Salem.

Last November, the overflow shelter was shut-down, due to fire codes.

Wanting to bring attention to the situation, Jones, Lange and Roberts went downtown and slept outside in tents, along with other university and high school students.

They camped out for about one month until the overflow shelter was open.

“It is easy to become a protester, but we wanted to do something constructive.

“We wanted to raise awareness and show that something needed to be done,” Lange said.

Although the focus is on helping the homeless, they are ready and willing to help in any way that they can.

Poverty is more than just being poor or without a home, according to Jones.

“We don’t define poverty as just lacking money or a house. It can be lacking love, lacking relationships or lacking choices,” Jones said.

Earlier this semester, this same group again showed their desire and willingness to help after learning about a homeless couple, Kenneth and Doris.

The couple was engaged and wanted to be married on Valentines Day.

Upon hearing about the couple’s situation, Jone’s decided that he wanted to give them something more than what their original plan entailed.

“When they told me they were getting married at the courthouse, I knew that they deserved more than that,” Jones said.

“We asked them what their dream wedding would be like, and we tried to make that happen.”

About 30 students volunteered and worked to make the day special, each using their particular skills to aid in the day’s activities.

Some helped to decorate the night before, while others baked the wedding cake and other desserts.

“It was really exciting to see a bunch of college kids plan a wedding in two weeks,” Lange said.

The timing of the event could not have been more perfect.

“The wedding actually happened on the night of our one year anniversary of serving,” Jones said.

“We wanted to have a big party, and that turned out to be the party.”

Over the past 14 months, this outreach has affected the volunteers as much as it has affected the homeless that they serve.

“The whole thing has really humbled me,” Girard said.

“Once you really get to know the people, you see that they can be ten times happier than you or me – and they don’t have the luxuries that we do.”

Despite how much they have impacted the community, they remain humble.

“I don’t feel like we are doing some great thing. I don’t feel like it is anything spectacular or life-changing or anything like that,” Lange said.

“We can’t do great things just small things with great love, as Mother Teresa said.”

Both Lange and Jones admit that they are not changing the world, nor are they striving to.

Even so, the simple things they have done have fed the hungry and helped the homeless for more than a year. Hopefully, the tradition will continue to thrive at the university.