Wouldn’t you know it–yesterday was snowy and cold while I worked outside, and today is sunny and perfect and I’m working inside. Sarah is really testing me….

Today I am helping set up for a soup supper to acknowledge and thank all the volunteers and donors who help Dorothy Day’s House of Hospitality maintain her mission. For those of you who don’t know, the Dorothy Day House is a homeless shelter that strives to keep families together. I have seen plenty of homeless men out and about town. Occasionally I’ll come across a homeless woman, but I have never before seen a homeless family. But they DO exist. Homeless families aren’t seen very often because they are usually hiding. They don’t want to risk getting caught and having their kids taken away. The Dorothy Day House is the only homeless shelter in Memphis that keeps families together. When homeless families are able to stay together, they tend to have an easier time getting back on their feet, so to speak. The shelter is able to run with the help of donors and volunteers who help with services like education resources, child care, transportation, food and clothing donations, and legal and financial advice, to name a few.

Soup Supper at I.C.

I arrive at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in midtown and find my way to the basement, where I am supposed to keep my eyes peeled for Sister Maureen. I’ve never met Sister Maureen, so naturally I’m looking for the quintessential nun, dressed in a black and white habit, possibly with a ruler in hand, in case I misbehave. I was a little confused when I did meet Sister Maureen. She was dressed in normal clothes. Was this allowed? The answer: Yes. Apparently Hollywood has definitely had an impact on how I pictured nuns. (Don’t act like you wouldn’t have made the same mistake.) She introduced herself, then ordered me to spit out my gum and get to work. (totally kidding!)

NOT Sister Maureen

I get assigned a few different tasks to help set up of the supper: set tables, fold programs, and make a huge vat of tea.

Brewed it like a BOSS

Before the supper starts, I get a chance to meet a few others who are involved in helping at the shelter. I met a young woman named Jaimi Cornelsen who is relatively new to Memphis. She explains that she has always been involved in volunteer work and jumped at the chance to help at the Dorothy Day House once she heard about it. I can hear the alacrity (look it up) in Jaimi’s voice when she talks about her time spent helping the people there.

The room starts to fill with people and Sister Maureen acknowledges all the hard work of everyone invited to the supper. She also shows a short documentary that explains exactly WHO Dorothy Day was. I’m not going to go into it, but that Dorothy Day is quite the fascinating woman. Talk about someone who did the right thing regardless of people standing in her way. I’m intrigued by people like her, who have ideas and actually put them in motion without letting anyone else stop them. And from what I gathered while at the soup supper, with her “can do” spirit, Sister Maureen, who is the director of the shelter, is quite a bit like Dorothy Day herself.

Setting up for the Soup Supper