Did you see, did you hear?…it was covered by the big 4 in Baltimore – WMAR, WBAL, WJZ and FOX! Last Tuesday the Baltimore Ravens showed up en force at Helping Up Mission. For the past 7 years, Wade Brown, Executive Director of Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset (DKK), and Craig Singleterry, Ravens’ Director of Team Security, have organized an event here at Helping Up Mission in conjunction with Regional Management, Inc. (RMI) who provides and prepares lunch for all and the Dunbar High School Football team who serves it. As in the past, DKK and Sun Products provided and gave away men’s toiletries and winter gear (gloves, hats and other stuff).
The Ravens players organized a winter coat drive for our guys – led this year by offensive tackle Michael Oher (who came down here and shared his story with us last month – see my blog from 10/22/10). Michael brought a bunch of his friends, including Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, wide receiver Anquan Boldin, wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, guard Tony Moll, guard Brian Mattison, and running back Matt Lawrence. Now I have to say…the offense showed up, big time, but where was the defense! I guess to cover that side of the ball, they sent City Council President Jack Young, who shared some good words with the guys and then jumped right in and handed out items to everybody. Craig Singleterry led a quiz time with our guys and a number of them won NFL footballs signed by the Ravens! You can see photos from that day (and other events, too!) by clicking on “Photo Gallery” on our homepage. You can also still see the WBAL-TV video clip aired at http://www.wbaltv.com/r/25812748/detail.html.
It was a wonderful time. And, as if that were not enough, tonight, Raven’s runningback Ray Rice is going to be here tonight with a bunch of his Ravens buddies serving the 5th annual Bart Scott Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner here at Helping Up Mission. Bart started it while a member of the Ravens and has continued to sponsor the evening with our guys since moving to play for that New York team (!). Honestly, if a guy needs to be in recovery during the holidays, Helping Up Mission is definitely the place to be!
One day at a time.
Pastor Gary Byers
Spiritual Life Director