Santa Serves Homeless Year 'Round

Santa Serves Homeless Year 'Round

by Gerald M. Costello, The Christophers

June 14, 2010

It’s entirely fitting that Edward Stoops looks like Santa Claus, because he happens to be a giver of gifts the year around.  One night a week, for the last 20 years or so, almost as if he had his own never-ending bag of toys, he’s managed to feed 200 of Baltimore’s homeless people.  And he has no intention of stopping now.

“Yo, Santa!” one of his diners called out to him one night not long ago.  “We love you, Santa!  God bless you!”

At 75 years, Deacon Ed Stoops looks the part of Good St. Nick.  Sporting a full white beard and carrying a somewhat rotund physique, all Stoops lacks is the red suit and shiny black boots.  He’s already got the generous heart.

Reporter George Matysek, Jr. told Stoops’ story in a recent issue of The Catholic Review, Baltimore’s archdiocesan newspaper, in which the Santa Claus look-alike and his wife, Francine, unapologetically described their feeding operation as totally uncoordinated.  Volunteers just show up, Francine said, and somehow the work gets done.

And it’s deeply appreciated.  Listen to Jay Speller, a 52-year-old homeless Baltimorean who called the weekly dinner a blessing: “The Lord provides this for us through them.  They really are two of the most beautiful people you’d ever meet.”

Their project started back in the winter of 1991, when their daughter Kate started collecting blankets for the homeless in response to a televised appeal.  Told that the blankets wouldn’t be distributed for another day despite the biting cold, Kate handed them out herself that night, directly to those who needed them.  The homeless not only told her how much they appreciated them, but also wondered if she could find them something to eat.  That’s when parents Ed and Francine rolled up their sleeves and went to work.  They’ve barely looked back since.

At first the volunteers were the Stoops’ neighbors and fellow parishioners.  Now they come from all over – other parishes, schools, what have you – to a hall in downtown Baltimore where the meals are cooked and served.  And as Francine said, the planning can be touch-and-go; some nights there are only 15 workers and on others the number might top 40.  But if the menu on the night that the Review paid its visit is at all typical, the chefs manage to offer quite a variety of food – lasagna, hard-boiled eggs, coleslaw, fruit salad, pulled pork, baked potatoes, collard greens, cakes and pies.  Anyone who wants to take something along can do that, too; there are sandwiches, bananas, granola bars and more.

“When I’m here, it’s the highlight of my week,” Francine said.  “Our life is built around this.  It’s the most wonderful thing to be able to do this.”

The love that goes into the meals, and the way that formerly homeless clients come back to help Ed and Francine help others, inspired reporter Matysek to observe:  “It goes beyond just having a meal.  The Stoopses have sparked hope and, for many, a profound new life.”

Whether the menu is fancy or not, Ed Stoops will continue to play Santa for those he and his wife help out, along with their friends and other volunteers.  “When you’re serving the poor,” he said, “you’re very clearly serving Jesus Christ.  And Jesus loves chili dogs!”

(This essay is this week's "Light One Candle" column, written by Gerald M. Costello, of The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)

P.S. The Washington Post ran a related article a few years ago:

     Washington Post: Opening Doors, Hearts to the Needy