Individuals from a variety of backgrounds came together Saturday morning to learn about some of the more vulnerable members of society.
About 570 people gathered at Athens First United Methodist Church to join in one of five different walk experiences during the 11th annual Good Works Walk. The specific walks focused on children, women and strangers living in poverty.
All donations from the walk go to support The Timothy House, the only shelter for those without homes in nine Southeastern Ohio counties. A record $46,878 was raised for the event, shy of the $60,000 goal—one third of the house’s operating costs— although more donations are expected to be sent in, said Keith Wasserman, founder and executive director of Good Works.
Though important, funds were not the only goal of the walk. Participants were each given tags to wear with the story of one of the 248 people who had to be turned away from The Timothy House in 2012. The tags included language that encouraged walkers to remember that those without homes are “real people.”
“Seek to see people not as their situation defines them, but as who you believe they can become,” Wasserman said in his welcome address to the participants.
Each of the five walks had different activities and simulations aiming to educate walkers about the realities of living in poverty.
Sarah Hinkelman, a sophomore studying classical civilization, went on the women’s walk and was surprised by the number of people The Timothy House had to turn away because of limited space.
“I found out a lot more about poverty in Athens County,” she said.
The walk concluded back at the Methodist church, where members of Boy Scout Troop 357 cooked a meal of rice and beans for participants, or as Wasserman called it, “a meal of solidarity.”
“We are always teaching the boys service,” said Michael Fletcher, the troop’s scoutmaster. “It makes them a little more aware about what’s going on in the community around them.”
After the meal, participants discussed ways to better serve those living in poverty and shared their walk experiences.
“Adversity can create friendships,” said Maggie Krueger, a junior studying journalism, who went on the strangers’ walk that involved several walkers being blindfolded and led by someone they did not know.
Krueger has been involved with Good Works for three years and serves as the president of Service Living, an OU organization that collaborates with Good Works.
Wasserman encouraged participants to think of what they will do with what they learned on the walk.
“This is an opportunity to learn how to love better,” Wasserman said.
oh271711@ohiou.edu
Visit Goodworks: http://www.good-works.net/
