Before dawn on Saturday mornings, inside Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, the non-profit Dallas Hope Charities transforms a place of worship into a restaurant.
"It's an amazing thing to see this in action," said volunteer and board member Jason Reed.
Around 40 volunteers are preparing to serve around 250 people in need — some even facing homelessness.
"You want to head toward the front of the room? A gentleman will seat you," Reed said as people started to walk in after the doors opened at 7:30 a.m.
"We serve our guests here like a restaurant with a hot breakfast," Reed said. "We have waiters and waitresses that serve and our mission really is provide a level of kindness and respect and dignity to our guests that they won't find anywhere else."
Guests are waited on by attentive volunteers, like Khirstian Satcher. "Ya, giving them some breakfast, helping them start their day in a positive way," Satcher said. She is volunteering alongside her sorority sisters.
Together, they are delivering plates of food with side orders of joy and kindness.
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"They treat us very nice. You do not feel like you're less than anything," Christopher Alexander said while taking a break from eating. "You feel like somebody cares about you."
A breakfast regular is Joshua Lloyd. "Oh, I like it. The people are nice, and they care about people," Lloyd said.
He said he can tell they care because they offer health screenings with doctors at no cost. Also in the lobby, volunteers give free haircuts. It's a way for them to give and also get back.
"One guy told me, 'you know, I'm gonna have a good day because of you.' And I said, 'I'm gonna have a good day because of you!' That really makes me feel good," Satcher said.
"I view this as a time for me personally to kind of step back from thinking about myself and my own problems and to really focus on serving other people," Reed said.
Dallas Hope Charities is connecting with people over breakfast, bringing smiles and friendship to folks every Saturday morning.
"Never missed one in 11 years," Reed told a man who was leaving after eating. "Thank you for coming in. I hope to see you next week!"
Dallas Hope Charities is able to help people because of donations, which are running low.
If you'd like to help support their efforts, here is a link to their website: dallashopecharities.org.
