Scott Arthur is the Director of Public Relations for the Star of Hope Mission.
I began my career at the Mission some 18 years ago as a "media liaison" while still a radio personality in Houston. HOPE NOTES documents my thoughts and experiences during a non-stop journey to spread the word about our wonderful organization and the thousands of broken lives it reaches out to each year.
This week Star of Hope has three good reasons to “Thank God It’s Friday.” Starting early Friday morning 93Q (92.9), The Eagle (107.5) and Country Legends (97.1) will each broadcast two commercials an hour featuring testimonies of men, women and children that were homeless and have had their lives changed by the recovery programs at Star of Hope.
This “Day of Hope” was inspired by a recent Community Partnership between Cox Media Group and the Houston homeless mission. The main goal is to help listeners realize that our city’s Homeless are not necessarily represented by the man at the intersection with a sign but more likely by the more than ten thousand “Hidden Homeless” ….women, children, men, families sleeping in cars or camp grounds or abandoned buildings … too proud to seek help yet too desperate not to.
Faith-based Star of Hope provides shelter, food, spiritual guidance, life changing recovery programs and day services to about 1,100 of these men, women and children EVERY DAY.
Friday, tune into your favorite Cox radio station to hear real life testimonies and find out more about how our 105 year old organization helps God change lives.
Congrats to the staff and management of Chick-fil-A Pearland for their wonderful Star of Hope“Clean Start” Concert and Collection Drive. Operator Bryan Bullington spearheaded the event and turned it into a night of music, generosity and fellowship. The restaurant collected toiletries and all around added to the awareness of the homeless and the work that Star of Hope does in Houston. BTW, there are over 1500 Chick-fil-A stores in the USA – Bryan’s Pearland location has the #1 most productive Drive-Thru in the country!
At Star of Hope, we celebrate volunteers every day. April has been National Volunteer Month. Thirty days that have passed so quickly - yet each of those days were filled with Houstonians giving their time and talents to reach out to our city's homeless men, women and children. Last year, 8.774 men, women and families served 31,892 hours. 128 individuals donated 13,601 hours of specialized skills - and that saved Star of Hope $466,000!
Volunteers are part of our foundation. They save us time and money and set good examples and create good will. From individuals to church projects and corporate outreaches, we are blessed with people who are in the habit of donating to charitable organizations. If you are one of them - on behalf of 200 employees and thousands of homeless men, women and children, thank you.
If you've never volunteered, there's no better time like the present. The very fact that you thought about helping your fellow man makes you qualified. Contact us at 713-748-0700 and we'll show you the way. And - thanks in advance.
At grocery stores and churches all over town we've been seeing Girl Scouts with card tables and cash boxes selling those yummy cookies. The Boy Scouts from Troop 46, St. Luke's UMC, need cash for camping equipment. So in order to "be prepared" for summer - they are selling - wait for it - BRISKETS. Yes - some door to door - but mostly in the church yard after services. Why briskets and not lemonade? Well - Steve Jenkins' family has been cooking them for generations - and it seems like a natural thing to do. So - for two days - behind the church - Steve, his family and the scouts and parents will cook "Meat for Money".
So - if they cook the beef on church grounds - would that be HOLY COW? But I digress .... Last year was the first time they tried this - and it was a huge success - not only for the scouts - but for Star of Hope as well. It seems a member of the church ordered 7 briskets and asked them to be delivered to the homeless at the Star of Hope Mission. This started a trend - one that is being repeated this year - buyers are purchasing one for themselves and ordering another for the Star of Hope. Last year Troop 46 presented us with 50 briskets - what a treat - and a blessing. We look forward to a similar donation this year.
The 10-12 pound briskets sell for $48 - about 1/2 of what you'd pay retail - and they are literally fresh off the grill - with Steve Jenkins' secret family recipe. Thanks to Steve and Steven Jenkins and Sandy and Vikram Seth for coming on my Talk650 Radio show and sharing all this. To find out more and to order one for your self and one for a homeless family go to this link: Troop 46.
Last year, actually last summer, we became aware of a staggering statistic. The number of Homeless Families in Houston has almost DOUBLED in the last year. We were dealing with Families in Crisis. During the summer of 2010, Star of Hope saw more homeless at our doorsteps than ever before. Ever ....since 1907! In order to take care of God's broken children and catch those who have fallen through life's cracks, we needed funding, in kind donations, volunteers ...and prayers. The 2010 summer was indeed filled with Hope, Hope we were able to give to our clients because YOU were very generous to our Charity Houston.
Things haven't changed in almost a year. Most folks don't realize that we have more of a need in the Summer than we have during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.
So we're creating new "Cab Back" advertising and radio ads to remind a busy, vacationing city that there is a real need for continued hope and continued support during the summer months. Homelessness is NOT seasonal. A bad economy, bad choices and bad luck don't take time off. May. With your help June, July and August will be a meaningful Summer of Hope.
In the next few months as you make plans to leave your home for a while to enjoy a well deserved vacation - just give a few moments of thought to a family that left their home a long time ago - with little hope of returning.
Popular radio personality Dana Tyson (Sunny 99.1) was asked by the ABC network to produce a "local" version of the new national reality TV hit Secret Millionaire. The national version features a millionaire who goes undercover doing homeless volunteer work in a charitable institution. At the end of the show - the "volunteer", moved by the charity and love that he is surrounded with - reveals himself and announces that he is donating to charitable organizations. He then writes a stunned staff a large check.
In the local version, Dana and her camera crew went to a Houston Emergency Shelter - the Star of Hope Women & Family Emergency Shelter. Under the guise of taping a program called "a day in the life of a DJ" Dana joined volunteers preparing and serving lunch for about 100 homeless women and children. A few hours later - as the staff was cleaning up - Dana announced that she was so taken by the hard work and dedication of the volunteers that she felt compelled to help out financially as well. She then presented Star of Hope with a $2500 check from the ABC Network.
This morning on my Believers and Achievers radio segment (heard on TALK650 AM Radio @ 8:30 AM) we featured a Texas based company that has been spreading the good word and doing good deeds for as long as Star of Hope has been in Houston.
The name of the company is Buckner International, and their mission is to make life better for orphans, widows, vulnerable children and Families in Crisis. They have a high profile among Houston Non Profits and have recently partnered with Star of Hope to reach out and help broken families with long term programs. Find out how they're helping us. Visit the Star of Hope Mission Newsroom.
Residents of the Historic Houston Heights continue to make history this Friday night, December 3rd, as they host their annual Holiday on 19th Street event. This special evening has been a Houston area highlight for more than two decades amid a festive atmosphere filled with shopping bargains, refreshments, Santa, carolers and much more. "It's like spending time inside an old traditional post card," said one shopper from last year, "everyone is full of the Christmas Cheer and there's lots to see - antiques, clothing, books, original artwork and so many unique gifts." The opportunity to Sip, Shop and Stroll down 19TH Street starts at 6 PM and ends at 10 PM.
But this year is extra special. The 19Th Street Merchant's Association has chosen to give as well as receive. According to Merchant's spokesman and shop owner Dan Long, "We are aware of the growing homeless problem in Houston - this Christmas, more children will be homeless than ever before. So we've decided to help." he said.
And with that, 19TH Street created a miracle of giving. This year, visitors will be given the opportunity to Shop AND DROP for the Star of Hope Homeless Mission. Customers are encouraged to bring a new or gently worn blanket or a new toy to any of the participating 19Th Street merchants and DROP it into the donation box while they shop. In addition, some merchants will be offering discounts or free gifts for the donation - and many will donate a portion of the December 3rd proceeds to the Star of Hope Mission.
The Star of Hope reaches out to about 1,000 homeless men, women and children EVERY DAY - keeping them off the streets. We thank 19TH Street in the Heights for their small miracle and encourage everyone to take part in the Friday night event.
He's universally known as one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian Music. A three time Grammy Award winner with 40 Dove Awards and 13 million records sold, this Christian Superstar is an everyday Joe - I mean Michael.
On October 18th, just 11 days past his 53rd birthday, Mister Smith went to Houston - and without singing a note - wowed hundreds and hundreds of fans. He was signing - not singing and music lovers lined up to meet the man and have him autograph his new
CD " Wonder".
The occasion was another KSBJ Street and Greet. Star of Hope, in partnership with area Lifeway Book Stores, sponsors the event as music giants appear at selected stores and sign the merchandise. But most importantly - they meet their fans.
Now I think its fair to say that Michael W. Smith appeals to a vast and widely diverse audience. His career so far has spanned at least three decades and shows no signs of stopping. He is the Frank Sinatra of Christian Music - and his loyal audience goes ga-ga when he's around. No wonder he was named one of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful People."
He has the ability to treat every wide eyed housewife and giggling teenager, every bashful kid with a guitar and every hesitant husband with three CDs with fresh, genuine enthusiasm. He's the real deal - down to earth with a heavenly smile.
I even had a chance to chat with him about our city's homeless and the state of Houston Non profit Donations. I suggested that he record a song about the homeless - maybe with TobyMac - he smiled and said "write it - and we'll see." Hmmm - I love a challenge.
As each fan passed the Star of Hope table, I was able to share with them a brochure with up to date information about one of the premier Houston Non Profits.
Michael will return at Christmas time to perform in our area - check out KSBJ for details and please continue supporting Houston Ministries.
A few weeks ago I saw a sight that strengthened my belief in God and renewed my pride in Star of Hope. I watched as homeless men pitched in and helped build a house for a homeless family.
Houston Habitat for Humanity constructs simple, affordable houses for qualified families in need of shelter. On October 12th, this volunteer driven organization invited Star of Hope clients from our Men at Work Program to join their effort in the Fifth Ward for a few days. About a half dozen of our men took part in the project as part of their program’s work therapy.
The men were primarily involved in the construction of the exterior shell of the house which included raising the wall frame, installing sheathing, bracing the structure, vinyl siding, installing insulation and roof trusses. The work was hard and the days were long and hot. The project foreman remarked that Habitat would have been behind schedule if they didn’t have the help from the Star of Hope Men’s Development Center.
During a break, I asked one of the Mission’s workers about the irony of building a house that he wasn’t going to live in. As he answered, he held up a hammer and nails – like another wise Carpenter from centuries ago. He said “This is what I’m supposed to be doing right now. My time will come when He knows I’m ready … and I’m trying to be worthy of that chance.”
As the sun set and the house took shape around me, I realized that these men weren’t just constructing a home for a grateful family – they were building a bridge to their own future using Hope and Faith as their blueprint.
It was a hot August night, but a breeze carried relief and a message of Hope to about 1500 Houstonians as they sat outside at Miller Outdoor Theatre and watched one of the best movies of 2009. Last Saturday, Star of Hope hosted a showing of The Blind Side - the feel good movie about NFL star Michael Oher and his tenure with the Touhy family. Sandra Bullock's performance won her the academy award and the story won the hearts of movie fans everywhere. Sean and Leigh Anne Touhy will be our guest speakers at the 2011 Star of Hope Banquet in February.
The event was billed as the Star of Hope "Can" Film Festival - inviting all to bring a donation of "Canned Goods" to help us feed the 1,000 homeless men, women and children we serve in our Shelters in Texas EVERYDAY.
You know how your favorite part of the movie used to be BEFORE the feature ...cartoons and stuff? (I know - I'm really dating myself). Well on Saturday night - I thought the show before the movie was great. Top rated Sunny 99.1 radio personality (and Star of Hope board member) Dana Tyson hosted the night and Houston's First Lady of TV - KHOU's Deborah Duncan sang The Star of Hope song - which she co-wrote. Then, the crowd was treated to a 4 minute tour of Star of Hope Shelters Houston Texas hosted by our President and CEO Hank Rush - big as life on the giant screen.
The audience was even given an opportunity to donate $10 by texting SOH to 20222. For a limited time - that donation will be matched by a generous donor. So if you are so inclined as to donate - now is a GREAT time to be supporting Houston Ministries, especially Star of Hope, one of the most effective non Profit Organizations Houston.
What's better than a FREE Academy Award winning movie? Well, enjoying it at Miller Outdoor Theatre and helping Houston's homeless at the same time.
Star of Hope is showing a FAMILY FRIENDLY version of The Blind Side, Saturday night, August 14th. "Admission" is a few canned goods to help us feed the 1,000 homeless men, women and children in our shelters. We average about 1,800 meals a day.
For more details and information click on THE BLIND SIDE and feel free to share it with your friends.
Recently, we switched our Yellow Cab Ads. Have you noticed? We now offer ANOTHER option in our Ways to Give collection. You can now INSTANTLY donate $10 to help Star of Hope help the homeless in Houston. Just text "SOH" to 20222. It's that simple - and that important to us.
We call this campaign "The Summer of Hope" and we feature a cute little girl (an actual client) pretty in pink with a smile that would melt an iceberg. But if we showed you the hundreds of children without homes this summer - right here in Houston - you wouldn't see many smiles. You'd see frowns and sparks of panic and fear in their eyes.
Houston is without question, one of the most generous cities in America. But even Space City has communication problems. Folks don't realize that SUMMER is our busiest and most challenging time of the year. SUMMER is when homeless families that have been holding out in apartments without lights - give up and go to a shelter because of the heat. Or, a homeless family has been staying with friends or relatives to keep the kids in school but now its SUMMER and they're asked to leave - and live on the street - or in our shelter.
A few nights ago, IN ADDITION to the 1,000 homeless men, women and children sheltered in our facilities, 106 women and children slept in our atrium at the downtown Star of Hope Women and Family Emergency Shelter. I believe that's a record - and a chilling sign of our times.
Help us make this a SUMMER of HOPE For these folks. Text your $10 or better yet - dig a little deeper if you can and assist us in overcoming what is now a $700,000 deficit this year.
Last Saturday, about 40 students and faculty members from the six schools of UT's Health Science Center put down their I-Pads and picked up a paint brush as they helped Houston Homeless Shelters spruce up for Spring. In addition to collecting towels, underwear and socks to donate to various Shelters in Houston, the group started early in the morning and painted a large and long fence around Star of Hope's Transitional Living Center.
The UT System's United to Serve volunteers were organized by University of Texas Student InterCouncil. "As students at UT Health Science Center in Houston, we are blessed to have a community that so fully embraces and supports us, so each year, we select a great organization to give back to our community. This year we are partnering with Star of Hope Mission to help maintain the integrity and security of this Houston Homeless Shelter by painting the fence." said Student Intercouncil President Kari Brewer.
Each year the Star of Hope Mission utilizes the time and talents of over 7,000 volunteers. Your club, class, organization or neighborhood is always welcome. For a look at how you and your group can help, go to Volunteer Opportunities Houston.
We've all seen pizza delivery vehicles. Most of the time its somebody's personal car with a flag or a magnetic sign. But on March 30th Little Caesars' Love Kitchen pulled up in front of the Star of Hope's Transitional Living Center and was immediately the talk of the community.
Everyone was excited to know that it was pizza for dinner for our hundreds of guests, and in the past this event was preceded by a parade of staff members carrying leaning towers of pizza boxes into the kitchen. But this night was different. The mobile walk - in "Love Kitchen" parked in our driveway and the staff began to prepare the meal.
The pizza kitchen on wheels travels across the United States and Canada meeting the needs of the hungry, the homeless and disaster survivors. Its great to see a national franchise with a local heart. What I like best about this program is that in each city they visit, the company recruits staff from the local stores to cook and distribute to the less fortunate and needy. This program is good on so many levels.
The pizza party? It was a HUGE success both for the clients and Little Caesars' staff. Parents and kids got to relax and feast on their favorite toppings for hours.
Late last week, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a study regarding the nations' "First Time Homeless". The Washington office of National Public Radio featured comments from HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and then, since Houston was one of the studied cities, they called Star of Hope - one of our country's largest and most effective homeless missions. Our spokesperson was Hank Rush, the Mission's president and CEO.
Hank made us all proud as he quickly summed up the Bayou City's homeless situation for the the national audience: "Over the last year we've seen a major increase in the number of people in the Houston area who have become homeless. And about 10 percent of the number that we've seen are folks who you would've never expected to become homeless. Neighbors down the street, people in the suburbs, folks who have good jobs, a couple of cars in the garage and who end up, for various reasons, out of work and unable to maintain their housing. And so it's a very interesting and difficult and traumatic experience for so many people in our community who would never have expected that before. "
You can read or hear the entire interview for yourself on NPR.
Star of Hope reaches out to over 1,000 homeless men, women and children every day. These days - one of those individuals or one of those families may be familiar to you. Like they say - we're all only a few pay checks away.
A few months ago, Grammy Award winning singer TobyMac - one of the most successful Christian performers in history, visited Houston. Radio station KSBJ invited him to debut his new album "TONIGHT" in the Bayou City and Star of Hope Mission along with LifeWay Christian Book Stores co-sponsored the CD signings.
As a record maker, TobyMac was a record breaker - attracting about 4,000 fans to selected book stores to Meet and Greet their own personal Star of Hope .....his lyrics are always positive and uplifting.
I set up OUR Star of Hope collateral right next to him and gave out Mission information to every one of his excited fans. It was a great way to create awareness among future donors and supporters who might some day volunteer at one of our shelters or write a check to help us serve over 2,000 meals each day to homeless men, women and children.
But what impressed me that day wasn't what TobyMac did on his CD - it was what he did IN PERSON. At our third and final book store CD signing - he was allotted an hour to say hello, sign and leave for the airport. After 90 minutes it was apparent that if he wanted to honor EVERYONE who lined up to meet him - he would miss his plane. He did just that - asked his people to reschedule his flight, got on the store's PA system and announced that he would meet all who were lined up to see him.... and at that point there were about 500 fans outside the store who hadn't yet entered the front door.
THEN came the impressive part. As the crowd pressed around TobyMac - a 13 year old boy leaned against a display shelf and it collapsed - very loudly and very publicly. Everything in the store stopped and the teen looked like a deer in headlights. Sensing the boy's uncomfortable situation, the award winning vocalist and father of five stood up, walked around the autograph table, reached out and hugged the boy - letting him and the hundreds of critical onlookers know that all is OK.
TobyMac speaks to millions with his music - but that day he spoke to hundreds with his actions. Too bad they don't give awards for that!
For information on how Star of Hope helps the homeless, visit sohmission.org and find out more about our Houston Emergency Shelter or to become a Houston Soup Kitchen Volunteer.
Once again our friends at the Hard Rock Cafe live out their logo line "Love All Serve All." The staff has invited the families at our Transitional Living Center to join Ole Saint Nick for a rockin' Saturday morning Breakfast this weekend.
The event, which is usually open to the public for a fee, will be a private party just for 85 kids and their families. The Hard Rock with a soft touch will even provide gifts for Santa to present to the children.
Thank You Hard Rock - and Merry Christmas from Star of Hope !
For more information about donating and volunteering at this Houston Homeless Shelter, go to Homeless Volunteer Work Houston.
This past week has been full of sweet treats and bittersweet realities. While most families in Houston gathered around a table adorned with food and relatives, thousands and thousands of men, women and children who only have the city streets to call home gathered at common areas to give thanks for a full meal.
For the 19th year in a row, the staff of the Houston Hard Rock Cafe gave up their home time to volunteer to cook and serve Thanksgiving Luncheon to about 250 residents of Star of Hope. The meal came with smiles, music ....and Santa , who came bearing gifts.
Scott Arthur is the Director of Public Relations for the Star of Hope Mission. 
At Star of Hope, we celebrate volunteers every day. April has been National Volunteer Month. Thirty days that have passed so quickly - yet each of those days were filled with Houstonians giving their time and talents to reach out to our city's homeless men, women and children. 
At grocery stores and churches all over town we've been seeing Girl Scouts with card tables and cash boxes selling those yummy cookies. The Boy Scouts from Troop 46, St. Luke's UMC, need cash for camping equipment. So in order to "be prepared" for summer - they are selling - wait for it - BRISKETS. Yes - some door to door - but mostly in the church yard after services. Why briskets and not lemonade? Well - Steve Jenkins' family has been cooking them for generations - and it seems like a natural thing to do. So - for two days - behind the church - Steve, his family and the scouts and parents will cook "Meat for Money".
Last year, actually last summer, we became aware of a staggering statistic. The number of Homeless Families in Houston has almost DOUBLED in the last year. We were dealing with Families in Crisis. During the summer of 2010, Star of Hope saw more homeless at our doorsteps than ever before. Ever ....since 1907! In order to take care of God's broken children and catch those who have fallen through life's cracks, we needed funding, in kind donations, volunteers ...and prayers. The 2010 summer was indeed filled with Hope, Hope we were able to give to our clients because YOU were very generous to our Charity Houston. 
Residents of the Historic Houston Heights continue to make history this Friday night, December 3rd, as they host their annual Holiday on 19th Street event. This special evening has been a Houston area highlight for more than two decades amid a festive atmosphere filled with shopping bargains, refreshments, Santa, carolers and much more. "It's like spending time inside an old traditional post card," said one shopper from last year, "everyone is full of the Christmas Cheer and there's lots to see - antiques, clothing, books, original artwork and so many unique gifts." The opportunity to Sip, Shop and Stroll down 19TH Street starts at 6 PM and ends at 10 PM. 
On October 18th, just 11 days past his 53rd birthday, Mister Smith went to Houston - and without singing a note - wowed hundreds and hundreds of fans. He was signing - not singing and music lovers lined up to meet the man and have him autograph his new 
A few weeks ago I saw a sight that strengthened my belief in God and renewed my pride in Star of Hope. I watched as homeless men pitched in and helped build a house for a homeless family. 
What's better than a FREE Academy Award winning movie? Well, enjoying it at Miller Outdoor Theatre and helping Houston's homeless at the same time. 
We call this campaign "The Summer of Hope" and we feature a cute little girl (an actual client) pretty in pink with a smile that would melt an iceberg. But if we showed you the hundreds of children without homes this summer - right here in Houston - you wouldn't see many smiles. You'd see frowns and sparks of panic and fear in their eyes.
Last Saturday, about 40 students and faculty members from the six schools of UT's Health Science Center put down their I-Pads and picked up a paint brush as they helped Houston Homeless Shelters spruce up for Spring. In addition to collecting towels, underwear and socks to donate to various Shelters in Houston, the group started early in the morning and painted a large and long fence around Star of Hope's Transitional Living Center. 
We've all seen pizza delivery vehicles. Most of the time its somebody's personal car with a flag or a magnetic sign. But on March 30th Little Caesars' Love Kitchen pulled up in front of the Star of Hope's Transitional Living Center and was immediately the talk of the community. 
A few months ago, Grammy Award winning singer TobyMac - one of the most successful Christian performers in history, visited Houston. Radio station KSBJ invited him to debut his new album "TONIGHT" in the Bayou City and Star of Hope Mission along with LifeWay Christian Book Stores co-sponsored the CD signings. 
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