Charlie's Place

Food kitchen: Tom Goss sets up the banner calling attention to his organization, Charlie's Place. Goss was one of thousands registered to walk on the National Mall as part of the walkathon. (Photo by Brenda Box)
Two men wrestle with a banner on the National Mall while marchers gather around them. Some are dancing to a Montel Jordan song blaring from the overhead speakers. “This is how we do it......” Others huddle deep into their winter coats and scarves. It's 8 o’clock in the morning, 28 degrees... and cold.

Tom Goss is overseeing preparations for the walkathon. He’s development director at Charlie’s Place, a food kitchen sponsored by St. Margaret’s Church in Dupont Circle. Staff and volunteers serve breakfast to the homeless Tuesday through Friday and also provide case management, nursing, job placement and many other services.

St. Margaret’s rector, Reverend Susan Blue, says Charlie’s Place gives the homeless more than just food.

“The best things is...the homeless come in at 6:30 a.m. Classical music, coffee and tea, they get warm, read the paper and at 7:30 we have this huge meal: meat pasta, vegetables....and there’s plenty for seconds...we serve the working poor so they’re able to go off to work full.”

Tim Green is a member of St. Margaret's and has volunteered at Charlie's Kitchen for several years.

“Sometimes [the food] is real good, sometimes it's not great. But if you only get one meal a day, it would be adequate."

Charlie's Place is named for former Montgomery County Executive Charles Gilchrist. He founded the soup kitchen after leaving politics and serving as a priest at St. Margaret's more than 20 years ago. Gilchrist died in 1999.

Little helpers: The Brunson family takes a moment to pose for an image with this years Help the Homeless Wakathon shirt. The children participated in the 5k walk to raise money. (Photo by Brenda Box)Goss says now, more than ever, Charlie’s Place needs the financial assistance provided by the Walkathon.

“With the declining of the economy, we’re seeing about a 20 percent increase in people needing help and a 40 percent decrease in donations. We’re getting hit both ways.”

Goss says the walkathon raises up to 40 percent of the money needed for the upcoming fiscal year.

“Our budget is about $120,000. [The Walkathon is] hugely important on a fiscal scale, but it's also important to get people, businesses and the community involved.”

Quintaria Brunson has come to the march with her three daughters: Yhazmyn, age 10, Jaliyah, age 8, and Anaya, age 6. All are bundled for the cold. Tom gives them 21st Annual Walkathon t-shirts, which the girls tie around their faces or necks.

“It’s cold...but I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” says Brunson. “I do some work with Charlie’s Place. I know homeless people.”

Bruce McBarnett, also volunteers at Charlie’s place and is the former director of development.

“It's particularly important for young people to understand that community service needs to become an integral part of their lives. That’s part of what the walkathon is about. Volunteers come to Charlie’s place every morning and sometimes school groups come down to help.“

Tim Green says a big chunk of their funding comes from Fannie Mae, and given the institution’s recent troubles, he doesn’t know if it will continue.

“It’s very vague...about the future. And we’ll probably have a lot more people who will need Charlie’s Place...St Margaret’s is a wonderful place. We’ll probably cut back on heating the building before we cut funding for Charlie’s Place.”

View Larger Map

This map lists local volunteer opportunities in the District of Columbia.