“Never Doubt That a Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens Can Change the World; Indeed, It’s the Only Thing That Ever Has. — Margaret Mead
On Sunday, November 24, Cafe Namaste launched it's first volunteer program, Serve with Love, at the Chapman Partnership, the center to empower the homeless in Miami. It was our version of Friendsgiving and the response was overwhelming. We spent the evening serving dinner and helping over 500 residents.
Our volunteers were deeply inspired by the work and one volunteer, Catherine, shared a message from one of the residents to the rest of the group. He thanked several volunteers and said, “We don’t deserve this.”
Everyone deserves kindness and compassion and we’re grateful we could provide that for an evening.
Cafe Namaste’s mission is to empower people to celebrate life and thrive, and that includes everyone. We provide meaningful opportunities for our community to connect with others and make an impact.
According to their website, Chapman Partnership operates two Homeless Assistance Centers with 800 beds located in Miami and Homestead. These two Centers serve approximately 5,000 men, women and families with children annually. We help the homeless by providing a comprehensive support program that includes emergency housing, meals, health, dental and psychiatric care, day care, job training, job placement and assistance with securing stable housing. The average length of stay for single adults is 89 days and families with children 133 days.
Since 1995, Chapman Partnership has had more than 110,000 admissions including 24,000 children in Miami-Dade County and a 64% success rate of moving people who complete the program from homelessness to self-sufficiency.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who spent their Friendsgiving with us at Chapman. A special thanks to Pura Vida Miami and Qunno Protein Bars for sponsoring goods to fuel us after volunteering.
We’re planning our next volunteer event in December. The reason this was possible was due to a generous donation from a Cafe Namaste participant. If you’d like to help us continue these programs, please donate to Chapman Partnership and add “Cafe Namaste” to the notes.
