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"The mission of Homeless & Hungry is to empower people to raise awareness for homelessness, to financially assist shelters and their partnering entities, and to change the hearts of participants and sponsors to serve as God's hands and feet."

~Homeless & Hungry is a youth-driven event for participants of all ages~

In its simplest terms, Homeless & Hungry is a combination of a 30 hour famine and a campout in cardboard boxes to raise awareness, funds, and donations for the FM shelters. Each participant is required to raise at least $365 (it is said that you can feed a person for $1/day, and each participant will be responsible for feeding someone for an entire year). We understand that raising money and asking for help is hard to do – but humility is a fruit of the Spirit!

Our hope is that walking in the shoes of a homeless & hungry person for even one day will change the hearts of those who are willing to accept the call.

However, Homeless & Hungry is much more than just an event.

First of all, H&H is about EMPOWERMENT. Our hope is that participants/volunteers/sponsors all learn that they are completely powerful for this Kingdom and that they can truly change the world.

An excerpt from My Thirty Days Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski:

“When it comes to the overwhelming needs around us, you have to ask the question: Can one person make a difference?
My answer is, “Yes…but.”

Yes, first of all, because look at how a few people and their sack lunch fed thousands when Jesus entered the equation. Can the same Savior change a life, meet a need, and make history through a no-namer like you or me? Absolutely. In fact, I think God likes doing that sort of thing again and again so we can’t help but marvel at the miracles that happen all around us.

And now for the “…but.” One person can make a difference in our world, but…that one person will make an even bigger difference when they decide to help mobilize others. Then, impossible things become even more possible.”

Second of all, H&H is about COMING TOGETHER. We come together as participants and supporters of all ages because we are angry – we’re angry that people end up as homeless & hungry. We’re angry that there is social injustice and we want to do something about it. We’re bothered that sin has led to so much inequality and we struggle to see people as forgotten and left on their own. And it’s not just the sin of the person who is homeless – it’s the sin of their past - it’s the sin of his/her parents for possibly abandoning them – it’s the sin of the local church for not finding ways to engage “the least of these” – it’s the sin of the people who pass them by every day without a second thought. We’re all sinners and helpless at the foot of the cross.

Simply put – the world IS the church’s business. These homeless & hungry in our community are precious children of God…and it’s time we start treating them that way. If we don’t stand up together to make a difference, then who will?

Additionally, H&H helps people of all different denominations to come together. That which unites us is far greater than that which divides us.

Finally, H&H is about SOCIAL CHANGE. Our hope is that Homeless & Hungry become not just an event, but a movement. In order to achieve truly deep justice, there have to be 3 layers of depth:

Level 1: Physical Response (seeing & servicing the need for food, shelter, items, money, etc).

Level 2: Relational Response (true service isn’t about just writing a check or giving of your extras – it’s about developing relationships with the ones that our society will forget about – we need to be consistently present in the lives of those who struggle in order to make a real difference).

Level 3: Systemic Response (what led them to be homeless & hungry, and how can we, as a society, change that path for people in the future?).

We believe that people are dying for a life worth living. Won’t you please come and join us for the Homeless & Hungry Event? Come and be a part of the movement!