June 2007 Report

Meet the man in blue – Joe Millspaugh. He is one of more
than 300 people who have volunteered with Filling The Void
since 2003.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE

Think quickly. Did you do anything special for Christmas Eve last year? Joe Millspaugh did. He was attending the 9:30 a.m. service at First United Methodist Church downtown when a homeless man walked in the door. The man wasn’t sure whether to stay, so Joe jumped up to help Palmer feel welcome. And that was just the beginning.

After church, Joe and his dad treated Palmer to lunch at Goldie’s Patio Grill. Next, they took him to get a coat and a backpack. Then they prayed with him before giving him a lift to a local shelter.

Joe is the last person in the world to want a gold medal for his good deed. That’s the way it is with all of the volunteers who selflessly serve with us.

More than 300 people have given their time and talents to us since 2003. The list keeps growing longer too as people invite their friends and co-workers. To Joe and to all, we offer our sincere appreciation. Your hands, feet and hearts are a big blessing every week.

BIG BANG BASH

We’ve got the perfect way for you to spend the 4th of July – with us. The 4th falls on Wednesday this year, which means that “the show must go on” at our regularly-scheduled weekly outreach. If you don’t mind driving downtown on your day off, we can sure use your help. The volunteer center will open at 11:30 to get everything in order.

MUST-SEE T.V.

FOX23 just can’t get enough of Filling The Void. Kelly Swan has agreed to appear on their morning show between 8:30-9:00 a.m. on June 14. It will be the third time that FOX has used their airtime in the past year to profile our non-profit. Kelly hopes to use the interview to encourage citizens to treat the homeless with dignity and respect.

MISSION: MATT

Earlier this year, three of our volunteers felt a need to encourage a man we’d see named Matt. His countenance was low, and we knew he needed to be lifted up. We lost him for three months before finding him again on June 6. It turns out that he did some time in the slammer for assault and battery. Now he’s trying to get into the men’s program at the John 3:16 Mission. The change of scenery is exactly the change he needs. Please pray he proceeds.

YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE SHOPPING CART

One of the staples in our sack lunches is an organic fruit bar. That’s what replaced the bananas in our lunch bags about a year ago after we started preparing hundreds of sacks in advance to help everything run smoothly on our outreach days. So when Wild Oats recently put them on sale, we went a little wild ourselves, purchasing 2,000 all at once. The savings came to $380.

MAJOR MILESTONES

May was another record month for outreach. We served more lunches than we ever have in a single month (680) and witnessed our largest crowd ever (160) on May 30. We have now served 2,780 sack lunches over the first 23 Wednesdays in 2007. But something even bigger is in store. Can you guess what major milestone we’re going to surpass in mid-July? If you know the answer, send an email to fillingthevoid@hotmail.com.