Home Sweet Home!

Dear SoupFriends,

Greetings from the SoupMan!

Whether you live in a House, Condo or Apartment, its the place that you call 'Home Sweet Home.'

In the Dallas area there are over 10,000 homeless men and women. They don't have a permanent place to call home. They are nomads in search of that thing we call 'Home Sweet Home.'

The SoupMobile started as a 'mobile' soupkitchen in 2003. In that first year we served 5,000 meals and at the time we thought that was a lot. Now we serve more than 200,000 meals per year. In 2009 we decided to expand our feeding operation to now include sheltering the homeless in a venture called: SOUPMOBILE VILLAGE. The Village is a series of group homes specifically designed to take a homeless person right off the streets, put a roof over their heads, clean them up, get them a job and eventually transition them back into regular working members of their community. Its a 'Hand UP' not a 'Hand OUT.'

We opened our first Men's Home on October 7, 2009. We opened our first Women's Home on April 1, 2010. I'm pleased to announce that we have just purchased our 3rd home and its scheduled to open in June 2010. This 3rd home was purchased thanks to the generous support of the Roger & Joy Beless family of Coppell, Texas and the Rick & Linda Graf family of Plano, Texas.

Slowly but surely the SoupMobile is making a dent in the homeless problem in the Dallas area. However I've had a few people say to me, 'Hey SoupMan, don't you get it---there are over 10,000 homeless people in the Dallas area---you can't make a difference.' My humble reply is to tell them the starfish story.

STARFISH STORY

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"

The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back they'll die."

"Son", the man said, 'don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You can't make a difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said..."I made a difference for that one."

The SoupMobile is passionately committed to following the words of Jesus who said--- 'Feed MY Sheep.' We believe he meant more than just food. We think he also meant love, caring, compassion AND shelter.
So with God's leading we will (ONE STARFISH) at a time, save as many homeless men and women as we can.

How about you? Will you join the SoupMan and his fabulous SoupTeam in saving some Starfish? Will you join the SoupMan in helping some Starfish find their own 'Home Sweet Homes?' You can reach the SoupMan at 1-800-375-5022. He's waiting for your call.

May the Lord bless & keep you all.

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan
Executive Director--SoupMobile Inc.