What is Fast Day, and how does it work?

Fast Day is the major fund-raising campaign of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. The Campaign first began in 1989 with the concept that those wanting to help our area's homeless should Fast for one meal and donate whatever they would have spent on that meal to the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. Since then, the scope of Fast Day has grown to become an opportunity for churches, individuals, and businesses to donate whatever they can afford to the ministry and mission of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. Donating to the Community Kitchen makes you a partner in our mission of lessening poverty and despair and restoring dignity and self-reliance among the homeless and needy men, women and children of the Chattanooga area.

When is Fast Day?

Originally, Fast Day was the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Then, it developed to incorporate the entire week before Thanksgiving. Now, we have supporters that participate throughout the year, though the actual campaign is still focused around Thanksgiving. Fast Day isn't so much about when as it is about getting involved.

How can you participate?

Everyone can participate in the Fast Day campaign. Naturally, the simplest way to participate is to make a DONATION but you can also encourage coworkers and church members to donate, pass out envelopes and fliers with church programs or payroll at your workplace, or simply place a display and a poster in your lobby. Individuals can involve friends, educate others and bring information about participation back to their workplaces, churches, and organizations. Remember, spreading the word however you can is an important part of participation.

Why Fast Day?

Although donations are always welcome, we rely on Fast Day participation to generate the bulk of our operating budget. By participating in the Fast Day Campaign, you can help us make a difference as we work to satisfy the physical and spiritual hunger of those we serve. Your support makes our work possible. For some homeless men, women and children, your donation is one they cannot live without.

Where do I start?

Individually, the best place to start is by making a DONATION. To get your church, business and friends involved, please call our business office at (423) 756-4222 to request materials. We'll be glad to deliver the items and provide more information.

GRATEFUL GOBBLER:

The Grateful Gobbler Walk for the Homeless is an annual walk sponsored by the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition (www.homelesscoalition.org) to benefit area homeless service providers.

The walk takes place each Thanksgiving morning through downtown Chattanooga and is designed to promote awareness of homelessness in our community.

For more information, visithttp://www.homelesscoalition.org/walk/walk_history.html.

Be sure to designate your funds to the Chattanooga Community Kitchen when you register (http://www.homelesscoalition.org/pdf/grateful_gobbler_walk.pdf)!

Souper Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl! According to Rev. Brad Smith, Souper Bowl Sunday is almost a national holiday. Everybody wants to see the game.
 
Who is Rev. Brad Smith? He and his congregation, Spring Valley Presbyterian Church of Columbia, S. C. founded the Souper Bowl of Caring in 1990. They wanted to be sure that Super Sunday became more than a day to celebrate extravagance. They wanted it to be also a day of caring. So they encourage churches and groups and individuals to collect money or food items to donate to a charity that feeds the hungry in their community.
 
Rev. Smith and Spring Valley Presbyterian Church have donated this basic idea to the nation. They trust local churches and organizations to participate and support agencies in their own communities.
 
Since 1990, the idea of Souper Bowl of Caring has caught on with participation from churches and other groups nationwide. Many local organizations have participated with collections of money and canned goods to area agencies.
 
If everyone of the 120 million people who are expected to watch the game donated a dollar, well, you can do the math. 

We encourage you and your congregation to participate in Souper Bowl of Caring on Super Sunday. Of course, we would like for you to donate the proceeds of your efforts to the Community Kitchen. That will enable us to continue our mission to feed, cloth, educate, employ, and house many hungry men, women, and children.

MEMORIALS/HONORARIUMS:

For those who would like to make a DONATION in honor of a friend or loved one, or as a memorial to one you’ve lost, we are happy to accommodate your wishes.

All you need to do is send your donation (or use the paypal link above) and include a note stating whether the donation is an honorarium or memorial and who you would like to have notified. (Be sure to include the recipient’s address).  Not only will we send your friends or family a card acknowledging the gift, we’ll also send you a receipt for tax deduction purposes.

FUNDS FOR FOOD:

Funds for Food is an annual letter-campaign used to supplement the Community Kitchen’s operating budget in the slow Spring months.  For this campaign, we ask supporters to help offset the expenses of providing three meals a day by underwriting the costs of those meals.  Requested donations are determined by the actual costs of supplying, preparing and serving the meals.  Unlike Fast Day, which generates the funding for most of our general operations, this campaign is designed just to raise funding for our feeding program.

The Funds for Food Campaign usually begins in Mid-March and carries through to the early summer months.  But, you don’t have to wait until then…you can make a monetary DONATION  to help pay for the feeding program at any time.

Day Center:

A safe, educational space for homeless men and women to spend the day.  This is a major component of our upcoming expansion and will be a central service.  Case managers, educational opportunities, outside services and more will be available.  As part of our current day center, we also offer:
            Telephones (make and receive calls)
            Full bathrooms and showers
            Laundry
            Mail Services (use our address to receive mail and as a residence)
            Educational Programs

Recycling Lives:

This program partners with our HELP II job-training program by providing entry level positions for homeless clients.  All recyclable aluminum, tin, glass, plastic and paper is accepted, as are unusable clothing and shoes.  Employees of the program receive donations and sort the items to be recycled.  Donated recyclables do not have to be pre-sorted.  The majority of our homeless and previous homeless employees enter the workforce through this program.