Help Raise Awareness
and Funds for Ohio's
Rural Homeless
Saturday
January 16, 2010
Registration begins at 8:30 am
The Walk begins at 9:00 am
and ends at 1:00 pm
First United Methodist Church
2 South College
St , Athens
What is it?
A walk to educate the public (children, youth and adults) about the
reality of homelessness and poverty in southeastern Ohio and to generate needed
financial support for the Good Works Timothy House, a shelter for the rural
homeless in Athens, Ohio. The Timothy House serves homeless people from nine
southeast Ohio counties.
How will the money be used?
All the money raised by individuals participating in the Walk will
be used to assist the homeless through the Good Works Timothy House, where
almost 75% of our funds come from private donations.
How can I get involved?
Participate in the Walk. We are asking each participant to find 10 people who
will sponsor them on the Walk by donating $10 each.
BE A CHEERLEADER!! Help promote the walk by asking friends to participate in
the Walk with you. Ask each of your friends to find 10 sponsors of their own.
To download your fundraising packets, click here. For more info about the Walk, call us at 740-594-3339 or email us at goodworks@good-works.net.
Good Works Inc.
A Community of Hope Since 1981
P.O. Box 4
Athens , Ohio 45701
These are PDF files, so you will need Adobe Reader to view and print them. The individual files are about 50K, but the entire Walk Packet is 700K, so it may take some time to download if you have a slow connection. For those of you with a broadband connection, click on the link below for the complete Walk Packet:
If you do not have Adobe Reader, just click on the button below. It's free!
For those of you not able to download or print, please call 740-594-3339 for information how to obtain a Walk Packet.
ALL of the 2010 WALK EXPERIENCES are intended to expand our perspective of poverty and homelessness through a wide range of engaging learning experiences. While none of the walks are very long in terms of distance, two of the walks are very short. You can expect each walk to last about 2 hours. Each WALK leaves from and returns to the First United Methodist Church on College Street. Parking is available in the Athens Parking Garage.
Here is the Athens News article on the 7th Annual Walk for the Homeless.
In 2009, participants had five WALK experiences to choose from:
NO ROOM IN THE INN: This WALK explored the places where people try to find shelter in Athens when they are homeless. People who were once denied shelter because we had no room told their stories. Local Pastors spoke about a letter that eighteen local Pastors signed asking the Mayor and city counsel to rezone one area of the city to allow citizens to legally care for our homeless neighbors
HOMELESS SIMULATION WALK: Walkers journeyed to a destination in Athens and participated in an experience to dramatize the situation of being homeless. This simulation was very engaging and was primarily geared toward adults (high school age or older.)
TENT CITY: This WALK visited a tent city we set up where former residents of The Timothy House talked about homelessness. The WALK included a brief tour of The Timothy House and also stopped at Central UMC. This featured a talk by Dan Kauffman, one of Good Works Appalachian Immersion Interns, on being homeless by choice last summer in the Over the Rhine area of Cincinnati.
THE MYTH WALK: Do you know why people are poor and often become homeless? Do you know how poverty affects those in Appalachian Ohio? Curious about how wealth relates to poverty? Good Works has created an educational experience that dispels many of the commonly held myths about poverty and homelessness—and even some about the wealthy. Myths and misconceptions about poverty make it all the more difficult for those experiencing homelessness to overcome their situations. This year’s WALK sought to educate participants with the knowledge everyone needs for an informed position on homelessness and poverty. In addition to dispelling myths, the WALK incorporated the social justice teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into the contemporary discussion of poverty.
THE MINI-WALK: We designed a WALK for people of all ages who want to participate but find it physically difficult. The actual distance is less than 200 feet. Walkers participated in a video and audio educational presentation and a discussion about poverty and homelessness and the struggle of people who are in these situations.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE WALK
Make a decision to do the walk on Saturday, January 16th, 2010. Plan to arrive by 8:30 am at the First United Methodist Church in uptown Athens. There is free parking on the top two floors of the Athens Parking Garage.
Plan to do the WALK! To do the walk means that you find at least 10 people who will sponsor you at $10 each. Our goal is for each walker to bring in $100.
Be a "cheerleader" for the WALK by announcing it and promoting the WALK in your school, among friends, in clubs, in your church, in your hometown, and among your family.
Volunteer to assist in the promotion of the WALK. Contact Cory Blackwell
at goodworks@good-works.net or by phone at 740-594-3339.
FACT SHEET ON GOOD WORKS & THE TIMOTHY HOUSE
Good Works was established by Keith Wasserman during his senior year at Ohio University in 1981. Keith took homeless people into the basement of his home and cared for them.
January 1, 2010 marks the beginning of the 30th year for Good Works, Inc!
The Timothy House is one of the many outreach ministries of Good Works, Inc.
Good Works’ Timothy House provides 150-200 homeless men, women and children with shelter—between 4000-5000 nights each year.
The Timothy House is the only shelter for homeless people in nine rural, Appalachian, SE Ohio counties. 85% of those who stay at The Timothy House are from the counties we serve here in Southeast Ohio. 15% are considered travelers.
The cost to operate The Timothy House is about $180,000 a year. We receive about $60,000 from a grant, and we must raise $120,000 each year. The total goal for funds raised from the Walk is $50,000.
Good Works provides an estimated 17,000 meals to the hungry and homeless each year primarily through donations from people like YOU!
The Timothy House operates 24 hours daily and is staffed by seven employees and a volunteer community.
In 2008, Good Works provided more than 1,100 different volunteers with opportunities to serve the homeless, families and individuals in poverty, at-risk children, disabled citizens and the elderly. For information about our 18 different volunteer opportunities, click here.
Good Works is a FAITH-BASED organization supported by more than 250 churches. The Timothy House is named after the biblical New Testament book called Timothy and a real person named Timothy who lives in Athens.
WORLD POVERTY AND HUNGER
We are starting to build a educational section on our site to provide information about the broader issues of hunger and poverty.
Neighboring 101 is a class which examines the issues of poverty offered by the Good Works community to the public every Thursday at The Timothy House. Lunch is provided. Please RSVP.
TENT CITY: This WALK visited a tent city we set up where former residents of The Timothy House talked about homelessness. The WALK included a brief tour of The Timothy House and also stopped at Central UMC. This featured a talk by Dan Kauffman, one of Good Works Appalachian Immersion Interns, on being homeless by choice last summer in the Over the Rhine area of Cincinnati.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE WALK 