ESCONDIDO: City joins nationwide ‘Friends of the Poor Walk'

Volunteers raise money for those in need

By RENEE RAMSEY - For the North County Times | Saturday, September 27, 2008 6:44 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Escondido joined dozens of cities around the country Saturday for the first Friends of the Poor Walk to raise public awareness and money for the growing number of families in need in a struggling economy.

More than 60 participants met at Grape Day Park for a one-mile walk through downtown streets to raise funds for Escondido operations of the nonprofit Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Several individuals each represented pledges of varying dollar amounts from groups of donors. No total was available because additional donations from online donors had yet to be counted.

The walk was also held in 84 other cities by volunteers for the event sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul. San Ysidro was the only other San Diego County city to participate in the walk.

In Escondido alone, the organization of Roman Catholic volunteers serves 300 people a week just from its small emergency pantry, said Renee Richardson, president of the local offices.

Richardson and others said the number of poor residents is increasing each year because of rising unemployment and a higher cost of living.

"There are families here without electricity and running water," she said.

Richardson added that those in need in North County include uninsured or underinsured families who lost their homes in last year's wildfires.

Residents and members of churches in Valley Center, Escondido, Spring Valley and Encinitas, as well as individual families and the Salvation Army, were among participants in Saturday's local walk.

"This is to show solidarity with the poor," said Sandra Watson, a member of St. John's Catholic Church in Encinitas. "We all know that we have lots of people going through some very difficult times."

The U.S. Census Bureau this year reported that the federally defined poverty rate in America rose from 12.3 percent to 12.5 percent between 2006 and 2007.

"In Encinitas, we work with a lot of people who are homeless and who are about to be homeless," Watson said. "Poverty touches everybody."

The Rev. Lucas Thumma, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church of Escondido, said helping the poor is not just about donations of necessities.

"The poor need love and acceptance," Thumma said. "Say a kind word, and they will say, ‘I am somebody,' and they will thank you. This is the way we build humanity."

Donated household items were raffled following the walk. Volunteers and passers-by were treated to a free performance by 30 musicians and dancers for Tepanie O Pattitifa, an Escondido-based, Hawaiian-style dance studio that often performs at area churches.

"When we learn at a young age to take care of each other, it becomes natural when we become adults," studio co-owner Dawn Cheek said about the participation of dancers as young as 5. "You can volunteer. You can dance."

U.S. members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which operates in more than 130 countries, created the Friends of the Poor Walk to also mark the international organization's 175th anniversary this year.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.