Teens help homeless with fashion show
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Chloe Phelps (left), a member of Centenary United
Methodist Church, and Anna Marie Carr model for a fashion show that
raises money to help the homeless in Winston-Salem, N.C. UMNS photos by
John Gordon.
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By John Gordon*
May 8, 2008 | WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (UMNS)
At first glance, they appear to have little in common—students modeling
the latest fashions and, just a few miles away, dozens of homeless men
and women walking the streets.
But the high school and college students walking down the runway are
more than friends of fashion. The youth group from Centenary United
Methodist Church in Winston-Salem is raising money for the Love Thy
Neighbor ministry, which holds block parties for the homeless.
"We began calling it Love Thy Neighbor out of the Matthew passage that
says, ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’" explains Lisa Waugh, 18, a high
school senior in charge of the second annual Friends for Fashion show
held at a local country club.
The shows raise about $10,000 a year for the outreach.
Waugh and two friends from the Centenary youth group started Love Thy
Neighbor after a life-changing mission trip to San Francisco. They
worked alongside volunteers from Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
to help the homeless—and they brought the vision back home.
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Lindsay Rothrock (left to right), Lisa Waugh and Ann Bennett Thomas started
the homeless ministry after a mission
trip to San Francisco.
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"Most of the kids were from very affluent families, middle- to
upper-class white families, and we were used to going to school with
people who were very much like us," Waugh says.
"After Glide, we came back and were like, there is actually a serious
problem and it’s literally right outside our door. We have to do
something," she says.
Developing relationships
The students came up with the idea of holding block parties on the
church grounds to serve meals to the homeless. They also play games,
hand out socks and toiletries, and get to know their neighbors.
"We have developed relationships with them," says Lindsay Rothrock, 18, a
college student who helped start Love Thy Neighbor. "A couple of them
have actually joined our church now. There’s one man who comes and helps
us set up; he helps us to run the block parties."
About 80 people attended the first monthly block party, and attendance
has since grown to around 200. The program is being expanded to twice a
month.
"It touches my heart," says Robert Wooten, a homeless person. "I’m not a
bad person. I’ve had difficulties in my life. But it really touches my
heart that young people care enough about people to try to help."
Wooten says he owned a car-detailing business in Florida that closed due
to an economic downturn. He moved to Winston-Salem to be closer to his
hometown but has not been able to find a job.
Looking through a new lens
Ann Bennett Thomas, the third teen who started Love Thy Neighbor, says
the ministry also tries to address misperceptions about the homeless.
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The annual Friends for Fashion show
raises $10,000 for the ministry.
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"People get the wrong idea about homeless people, and they think that
they’re just bums that have nothing to do, (nothing) good to do with
their lives," she says. "But a lot of them have just hit one spot in the
road that just tears apart their whole life. And they’re just trying to
slowly build it back."
Those attending the fashion show also applaud the youth group’s efforts.
"I think it’s phenomenal," says Winston-Salem resident Dana Hite. "I
give credit to these young children to be thinking so deeply about the
needs of people."
Reaching out to the homeless is also shaping the future plans for the ministry's founders.
Rothrock is a freshman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. She
is majoring in human and organizational development and hopes to work
for a nonprofit organization after she graduates.
Thomas is attending Clemson University in South Carolina and volunteers at a community center that serves the homeless.
Waugh plans to sign up for as many mission programs as she can while attending college, and wants to join the Peace Corps.
"Honest to God, it has been better for me than it has for anyone that
we’ve ever served," Waugh says. "It showed me my passion and it has
showed me what I need to do with my life, and now I know. And it feels
good knowing that you have a purpose."
*Gordon is a freelance writer and producer based in Marshall, Texas.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Centenary United Methodist Church Youth Programs
Young People’s Ministries
Global Ministries Opportunities for Youth |
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