Urban Ministries of Durham copes with winter weather
DURHAM (WTVD) -- Two weeks of winter weather have taken a toll on the homeless population and the shelters that serve them. That includes Urban Ministries in Durham.
"Many nights [were] unsafe for people, so we opened our shelter under our white flag policy where we fit as many people as we possibly can safely into the building," said Urban Ministries spokesman Bryan Gilmer.
In fact, they saw more than 150 people in the shelter each night. And more bodies meant more mouths to feed, both in their cafeteria and through their food pantry.
"Kids are out of school now for almost two weeks in Durham public schools, and so families that depend on free and reduced lunches are coming to our food pantry and our clothing closet," Gilmer explained.
However, getting fresh food and supplies at Urban Ministries was challenging, due to dangerous road conditions.
"We had to really make a go of it on Monday and go to the food bank and fill up our van and fill it up with food because we knew that volunteers who normally come serve meals in our cafe might have trouble getting here," said Gilmer.
As anticipated, many volunteers were unable to get to the shelters, but many of those seeking shelter stepped up to help replace the missing volunteers.
Meanwhile, more people seeking meals at Urban Ministries means more supplies to replenish. Luckily, Urban Ministries has its big fundraiser coming up on Thursday. It's called "Empty Bowls," where 14 restaurants each make a signature soup and participants and celebrity judges vote on the best bowl.
"This is a great chance for us to raise, we think, about $80 thousand," said Gilmer.
That amount of money is enough to serve about 40,000 meals in Urban Ministries' community caf, or enough to end homelessness for about 16 clients.
ABC11 is a proud sponsor of the Empty Bowls fundraiser, and weekend morning anchor Anthony Wilson will be a celebrity judge this year. The event takes place Thursday, March 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Durham Convention Center, located at 301 West Morgan Street.
Tickets:
Premier Ticket: Includes soup and bowl for $100. This ticket allows guests to select their bowl from a special group of larger and more elaborate bowls starting at 5:00 p.m. Limited tickets available.
Hot Ticket: Includes soup and a bowl for $60. It's a hot ticket because attendees can have first choice of the bowls from 5:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Limited tickets available.
Regular Ticket: Includes soup and bowl for $40. Bowls can be picked after 5:30 p.m.
Soup Only Ticket: $20.00
Children six and younger can attend for free.
Tickets can be bought online at www.emptybowls15.eventbrite.com
