On a bleak and cloudy winter day, the holiday spirit radiated from the parish hall of the Church of the Epiphany. About 100 Street Sense vendors, volunteers and supporters gathered for a meal, conversation and celebration of the holiday season during the 2010 Annual Vendor Holiday Party.
As many people experiencing long-term homelessness do not have their family close by for a variety of reasons, the holiday season can be a particularly lonely time. The afternoon allowed the Street Sense community to focus on the joy and warmth that are so often forgotten amidst these cold and lonely days.
A small, committed group of volunteers worked together to bring party supplies to the church, transforming the hall into a festive holiday room. Supporters pitched in to bring food, drinks and decorations. Three area schools contributed to the event’s success: Ridgemont Montessori School of McLean, Community Academy Public Charter School Rand Campus of D.C., and Matsunaga Elementary School of Germantown. The students created handmade holiday cards for vendors.
Unexpected special guests made an appearance. They turned out to work for a company with the same name as ours: Street Sense. The Bethesda-based company, an integrated brokerage, design and development firm kept receiving calls from people interested in becoming vendor. When they found out about their nonprofit counterpart, they ended up sponsoring a coat drive, which collected over 90 coats, hats, gloves and outerwear for vendors.
All vendor attendees received one or two coats upon completion of a vendor survey. Bethesda’s Street Sense employees volunteered as greeters and monitors of the arts and crafts table. They brought enough nonperishable food to provide snacks for the writers’ group and vendor meetings for the month of January.
A Well-Fed World, an organization that empowers people to eat green, provided fresh, healthy food. Street Sense raffled items that ranged from gift cards to Safeway to a Redskins Snuggie to a real Christmas tree, given to a vendor who recently moved into her apartment. Merit awards were given to Tommy Bennett, Anthony Crawford and Daniel Ball. These three vendors, along with a team of others, volunteer every other Wednesday morning to bring the new issue of papers from the delivery truck into the storage closet. They have not missed a Wednesday in at least six months.
Vendors eagerly shared their talents, including musical selections from Richard Embden on the harmonica and Veda Simpson on vocals. Members of the writers’ group shared poetry. A crafts booth provided holiday cards and stamps for vendors to connect with family or friends along with glass ornaments, ribbon and tinsel to assemble. Vendors also signed cards for Street Sense vendors unable to attend the party due to ongoing health problems.
Grab bags included handmade holiday cards, candy canes, notepads, toiletries and coupons for free newspapers. They were all nestled beneath the lighted Christmas tree.
