This morning when I went to Starbucks to grab a cup of coffee, I noticed that the man in front of me had looked slightly out of place.  As I waited in line, the man turned to me and motioned that I move ahead of him.  I politely thanked him but turned down his offer.  He insisted my taking his place, however, as he humbly moved to the end of the line. I stood silently, wondering what had prompted this act of honor and kindness. As I looked closer, I could see that this man was homeless.

When I approached the counter, I ordered my drink and asked the young girl to charge me for whatever the man behind me wanted.  Unaware of what I had done, when she presented him with his small coffee, he dug through his pockets and pulled out a crumpled up dollar and some change. When the barista had told the man that his drink had already been paid for, it looked like a weight had been lifted off of him.  He paused for a moment, walked over to me and simply said, “Thank you.”  After we sat together for a while, I realized why he had let me move ahead of him in the line. It was because until I had bought him coffee, he had felt invisible, alone, undeserving, with no real help or hope in sight. It was in that moment that a simple cup of coffee from a stranger brought real help and hope to a man who had very much been in real need.

There are many men, children, working moms, elderly, and young families who are in need of real help this Holiday Season. Cityteam has seen a dramatic increase of young families and working moms coming to our nightly dinners; many elderly have shared that they have found themselves homeless, unable to meet their rent due to substantial cuts to low-income housing; and many of our shelters have been asked to increase our capacity to accommodate more homeless men during this harsh winter season.

The needs may seem overwhelming.  But because of generous donors, volunteers and faithful partners, Cityteam has been able to provide real help and hope to those in the greatest of need. This past Thanksgiving, we were able to feed over 2500 individuals a hearty Thanksgiving meal and provide over 5000 holiday food boxes to families in need.

In just a few weeks, Cityteam will provide over 2500 meals, 2500 holiday food boxes and over 5000 toys for low-income children whose families won’t be able to afford presents on their own. We need your help to do it again.  There are many opportunities to be the help that brings hope this holiday season. You can donate toys or adopt a family for Christmas, host a food drive or provide holiday food boxes for families in need, give a meal or shelter to someone in need, as well as volunteer over the holiday season. You can also partner with Cityteam to provide men with a day of life changing recovery. Though the vital recovery programs offered at Cityteam, we get to see God transform the lives of men who desperately need help today and a Hope of a brighter future.

May you and your loved ones have a joyful Christmas!