By Mervyn Myers | Development Director
Following the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday gift shopping for family and friends, tomorrow on #GivingTuesday November 27th you have the opportunity to slow down and make a meaningful gift to a wonderful program that benefits the unfortunate homeless population of Washington, DC.
While many of us have protection from the elements, from icy conditions to searing heat in the summer, the homeless do not. UPO helps the DC homeless in several ways throughout the year. With a rise in DC homeless, the UPO Shelter Hotline vans transported 155,476 people to shelter last year. Help UPO Help the DC Homeless raises money for comfort items distributed to the homeless people assisted by Shelter Hotline.
Driving a Shelter Hotline van is a tedious job but a recent Washington Post article profiles one our drivers, who shares his experiences, memories and passion for helping DC’s homeless. The driver calls some of the men by name. Sometimes he uses a nickname — like “Champ” or “Red” — to set them at ease. And when each passenger gets off the bus — back at a homeless shelter after a day on D.C.’s gentrifying streets — he wishes them well with an honorific they rarely hear elsewhere: “Have a good night, gentlemen!” He is not the face of Mayor of DC’s efforts to decrease the high homelessness 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.
As a past supporter of Help UPO Help the DC Homeless your support has been invaluable in helping to cover the cost of the comfort items for the homeless, from feminine items to care packages, water, food trays and protective clothing. #GivingTuesday is an opportunity for you to Help UPO Help the DC Homeless start the year-end fundraising season off right, our host platform GlobalGiving is releasing $150,000 in matching funds over a 24-hour period on #GivingTuesday.
Our hope is that this match opportunity will give you our loyal supporter an incentive to generously support the change you’re making in the world. The cold spell experienced in DC earlier in November has resulted in several hypothermia alerts and the D.C. winter outlook 2018-2019 is predicting snowier than normal conditions for the first time in three years. Your donation will Help UPO Help the DC Homeless raise money for the increased need for comfort items to be distributed to the homeless people assisted by Shelter Hotline.
See the attached article from the Washington Post on Tuesday 11/13/18 about the D.C. winter outlook for 2018-2019.
Please be sure to make your #GivingTuesday gift to Help UPO Help the DC Homeless tomorrow Tuesday Nov. 27, 2018, between 12:01am and 11:59pm.
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By Mervyn Myers | Development Director
By Mervyn Myers | Development Director
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