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2009 Hope Awards Celebration & Fundraiser |
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2009 Hope Award Honorees
Alan Graham & Mobile Loaves and Fishes
2009 Pat Flood Humanitarian Award
Created in 1998 by Alan Graham and five other founders, Mobile Loaves and Fishes has been providing meals, clothing, and dignity to the homeless and needy for over 10 years. In their own words:
"Six parishioners of Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Austin, Texas founded Mobile Loaves & Fishes in the summer of 1998. The idea of using catering trucks to distribute food was planted by a conversation one of our founders had with a fellow parishioner, and the rest, as they say, is history. He shared his idea with the four original founders, and before they knew it both prayers and cash were being offered in support. The sixth founder, formerly homeless himself, became the founder’s guide to the streets, and they began distributing 75 sack lunches a day to test their resolve in fulfilling God’s call. The first trip was in September of 1988, and by December of that year there was enough money to purchase a 1997 Ford F-250 pick-up truck with a catering bed."
MLF's work now spans 75 communities, with Chapters in Austin, San Antonio, Nashville, Providence, and New Orleans. They've helped families affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and they've also initiated a Habitat on Wheels program, providing shelter for impoverished and vulnerable families. Using a robust online volunteer management and mapping system, MLF's tiny staff of six manages over 10,000 volunteers and a fleet of delivery trucks. This is a tremendous feat, and we are truly honored to have Alan and Mobile Loaves and Fishes in our Austin community. Please join us in celebrating their dedication and generosity!
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The Institute of Interfaith Dialog
2009 Hope Award Honoree
The Institute of Interfaith Dialog grew out of the need to address the question, "How can citizens of the world live in peace and harmony?" The founding members of the IID knew from personal experience that a discussion on religion and spirituality did not have to digress into confusion, fighting, and anarchy. On the contrary the founding members understood that peace could be achieved by sharing different perspectives by listening to each other from the space of love, respect, tolerance, mercy, and compassion.
Each month The Institute of Interfaith Dialog hosts interfaith luncheons, book discussions, and prayer gatherings all over Texas. In addition, the IID assembles a group of interfaith ambassadors to travel to Turkey each year, with particular focus on Christian-Muslim relations. |
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Dr. Betty Sue Flowers
2009 Hope Award Honoree
Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, PhD, has served as Director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum since 2002. Prior to this appointment she was a Kelleher Professor of English and member of the Distinguished Teachers Academy at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a poet, editor, and business consultant, with publications ranging from poetry therapy to the economic myth, including two books of poetry and four television tie-in books in collaboration with Bill Moyers -- among them, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. She hosted Conversations with Betty Sue Flowers on the Austin PBS-affiliate and has served as a moderator for executive seminars at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, consultant for NASA, member of the Envisioning Network for General Motors, Visiting Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy, and editor of Global Scenarios for Shell International in London and the World Business Council in Geneva (on global sustainable development and, most recently, on the future of biotechnology). In addition, Betty Sue served on the AAIM Board of Directors for two years (2007-2008), providing invaluable insight and guidance for our organization.
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