CLARKSVILLE, TN – The founder of Manna Cafe, Kenny York, raised awareness about Clarksville’s homeless population by doing something unusual: three separate times, for two weeks at a time, he lived as a homeless man. He refused all creature comforts, braved extreme weather, and wandered all over Clarksville with a sign that read Do You Care? on the front and Prove It on the back. Each evening, he blogged about his experience, and many folks kept up with his journey. As a result, countless people were awakened to the needs of Clarksville’s homeless population.
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23, Vicki York will revive the Prove It movement by taking to the streets like Kenny did, but in a slightly different way – through a 100-mile prayer walk. The goal is to spend every mile praying for desperately needed support for everyday operations of Manna Cafe Ministries.
“I’m going to be very transparent,” Vicki explains. “The past two years have been financially brutal. Manna’s reputation is stellar, and the community is so encouraging about what we do, but times are tough and donations are down – way down.”
The 100-mile prayer walk has a lofty goal of securing 500 new donors at $30 or more per month to help Manna Cafe with recurring expenses. Vicki and her staff are asking for citywide, monetary support to ensure they can continue the mission. You can also make a monetary donation for each mile of Vicki’s journey by visiting MannaCafeMinistries.org/100-miles.
On Sept. 23, the City of Clarksville will honor Kenny by renaming a portion of Oak Street (which runs through the middle of the Manna Cafe property) to Kenny York Memorial Way. Immediately following the street sign reveal, Mrs. York will set off on a prayer walk, completing 10 miles per day (in various parts of the city) for 10 days. Each evening, she will blog about her walk of faith throughout the Clarksville area. You can follow her steps and inspirational thoughts at MannaCafeMinistries.org/100-miles.
You can also show your support by quietly joining Vicki for a few miles as she traverses the streets and parks of our community. Departure times/routes will be posted on the Manna Cafe Facebook page (facebook.com/mannacafe2010).