The Dallas Morning News Launches Annual Charities Drive to Raise $1.5 Million for Area Homeless

Volunteers at The Stewpot were spooning lunch to the hungry and homeless five days a week in an old parking garage when the Rev. Bruce Buchanan arrived more than three decades ago. Once, there even was a donation offer of a live cow. Today, The Stewpot is no longer just a soup kitchen but a haven for homeless and at-risk individuals in downtown Dallas that serves approximately 15,000 people a year."It's been the community support that's made the ministry of The Stewpot a community ministry," said Buchanan, the nonprofit's executive director. He plans to retire at the end of December. Now, the agency provides people — mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters — with free dental, medical and mental health care. It supports the unemployed with job training, temporary employment and assistance finding full-time work. It helps those struggling with drug and alcohol addictions find help. And it serves more than 1,000 meals a day, seven days a week, at The Bridge — the city's homeless assistance center. It's all about communityThe Stewpot is one of 20 nonprofits selected to receive contributions during the current Dallas Morning News Charities campaign, which was launched Wednesday at the Winspear Opera House to raise money for the Dallas area's homeless and hungry.  Continue reading...