Women organize gospel concerts to help feed local hungry children

BY ALLISON KENNEDY - akennedy@ledger-enquirer.com --

If you're a Columbus-area child living in poverty, unsure where your next meal is coming from, you could soon have more food in your stomach. Columbus' child poverty rate in 2000 -- the latest Census -- was 28.2 percent. That's about 53,000 children. The "living wage" line is a $17,500 salary for two adults and two related children.

Most poor children who are in school are fed for free by federal school lunch programs. After school, they can choose among 11 sites operated by Second Harvest Food Bank's Kid's Cafe, where they get a hot meal.

A couple of local women are trying to bring more food to them.

"It breaks your heart," said Sharon Spivey, who with her friend Joann Teal has organized benefit concerts to assist. Tonight they are bringing the third concert to Central Baptist Baptist Church in north Muscogee County. The quarterly benefits go directly to Kid's Cafe.

Before the first such concert six months ago, Spivey and Teal -- active in the local gospel music community -- were discussing the problem of hungry children worldwide. Then they wondered what could be done locally, Spivey said. So they tapped the shoulders of their friends in the Chattahoochee Valley Southern Gospel Music Association to perform for donation-only concerts.

"Everyone gives of their time, and the churches donate their facilities," Spivey said.

Performing tonight: Pat Corning, Southern Praise, Southern Vision and Kingdom Express. Jim Foster is the emcee.

Babbs Douglas is the director of Second Harvest on Coca-Cola Boulevard.

"They found us," Douglas said of Spivey and Teal. "They said, 'Can we do this?' and we said, 'Sure.' "

The Kid's Cafe sites are: Wilson Apartments; Elizabeth Canty Apartments; Booker T. Washington Apartments; the Columbus Community Center; the Metro Columbus Urban League; Oasis Christian Center in Phenix City; Open Door Community House; the A.J. McClung YMCA; Phillips Temple CME Church in Phenix City; and First Baptist Church of Columbus operates two locations: Victory Mission in Columbus and Brookwood in Phenix City.

The program is Monday-Thursday with 500 meals served each afternoon.

Douglas said this new concert series is an atypical benefit. Second Harvest of the Chattahoochee Valley is a United Way agency, a member of the Georgia Food Bank Association and affiliated with America's Second Harvest: The Nation's Food Bank Network.

Spivey said about $7,500 has been raised for the Kid's Cafe program so far. The concerts will continue.

"The sad part is, for many of them this is the only meal they get until the next day. One boy told us to see if we could get it on the weekends," Spivey said.

For more information about Second Harvest and Kid's Cafe: 706-561-4755 or www.feedcolumbus.org.

IF YOU GO

What: Feed Our Children benefit gospel concert

Who: Emcee Jim Foster joins Pat Corning, Southern Praise, Southern Vision and Kingdom Express

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Central Baptist Church, 8303 Whitesville Road

Cost: No admission. Offering taken.

For more information: 706-322-4920 or 334-297-6567