By Mervyn Myers | Developmen Director
The driver calls some of the men by name. Sometimes he uses a nickname — like “Champ” or “Red” — to set them at ease. He knows who is headed to “New York Ave” and who will spend the night at “801.”
And when each passenger gets off the bus — back at a homeless shelter after a day on D.C.’s gentrifying streets — Orlando Gore wishes them well with an honorific they rarely hear elsewhere:
“Have a good night, gentlemen!”
Gore has spent four years driving a nightly loop from downtown to local homeless shelters. He is not the face of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s efforts to decrease the high homeless rate in the nation’s capital. Nor is he a main force behind getting his riders out of the shelters and into their own homes.
Instead, he is a one-man generator of small acts of kindness, driven by his own memories of tough times in his native North Carolina and his early years in Washington, D.C.
UPO’s Shelter Hotline was featured in the Washington Post on August 9, 2017. The article profiles one our drivers, Orlando Gore, who shares his experiences, memories and passion for helping DC’s homeless. Above is an excerpt but you can read the article in its entirety at the link below.
This article struck a chord in hearts of several National Capital Area residents who generously responded with online gifts and checks directly to UPO.
Dear loyal supporters, you have helped UPO raise more than $15,000 during the past two years to Help the DC Homeless. This beautiful article must surely strike a chord in your heart, re-affirming your compassionate decision to support our Help UPO Help the DC Homeless project. We hope you are re-inspired by the humane and respectful manner our Shelter Hotline staff carry out their duties transporting the homeless off the streets to shelters during the extreme cold in the winter and to cooling centers during the sweltering heat in the summer. While doing so they provide their customers with care packages, water, food trays and protective clothing, all funded by your generous donations.
Global Giving’s Final Bonus Day of the year is tomorrow Thursday, October 5th, 2017
Begins at 9:00:01 EDT and ends at 23:59:59 EDT
A great opportunity for you to renew your generous support, Help UPO Help the DC Homeless, by providing our devoted and passionate Shelter Hotline drivers with adequate supplies of care packages, water, food trays and protective clothing to distribute to warm the hearts of their unfortunate homeless customers.
Links:
By Mervyn Myers | Development Director
By Mervyn Myers | Development Director
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