Hello all,
Early on Saturday AM, on one of the coldest days of the year so far, Erin and I got all bundled up and headed over to the United Methodist Church to participate in the 7th annual Walk For The Homeless www.walkforthehomeless.net representing Rotaract! Once we arrived at the church we registered for the "No Room at The Inn" walk which is a 2.25 mile walk around Athens that visits several places where homeless people might stay when all of the beds at Good Works are full and people must be turned away.
After registering and donating the $416.00 collected by members of Athens Rotaract for The Walk For The Homeless we met up with Rotarians Dr. Emilia Marks (and her fiance Dr. Horacio Castillo), Dr. Claudia Gonzalez Vallejo and her son Derek DeMel. Derek was able to raise $126.00 in donations for the Walk For The Homeless from his friends and teachers at West Elementary school! Well done Derek!
The walk included stops at the Athens parking Garage, the Richland Avenue Bridge over a frozen, but flowing Hocking River, The Baker Center, and Alden Library. All of these areas have served as places of refuge for homeless people looking to get out of the wind and cold if only for a little while.
We also took note of the Gathering Place along the way www.gatheringplaceathens.org. We got to hear stories of homeless people who were struggling with life, as we all do, only to find that on top of every thing else they might not have a warm safe place to stay that night. We heard first hand how easy it is to become homeless through a simple few turns of bad luck. None of us are immune to this problem and luckily for many here in Southeast Ohio we have Good Works to help.
After the walk we enjoyed some beans and rice cooked by the Athens Scout Troop guided in part by Rotarian Dr. Scott Moody who was also a Rotaract Sponsor for the Walk. Thanks Dr. Moody!
All in all it was a wonderful experience that helped many of us realize how lucky we are to have love, friends, and a safe warm place to stay.
Athens Rotaract would like to thank all of the People who sponsored us on this walk most of whom were members of Rotary. We greatly appreciate it!
-Verne
