NOVEMBER 4, 2010 ISSUE
Artist’s Holiday Cards To Benefit Hospitality House
William Mangum To Speak at Chetola Resort November 8
Pictured are the cover and inside images of the 2010 Honor Card—a holiday greeting card illustrated with artist William Mangum’s watercolor paintings. Sales of Honor Cards benefit organizations serving the homeless in North Carolina, including the Hospitality House of Boone.William Mangum’s biggest philanthropic success comes in a small envelope.
It all started in 1988, when he painted a watercolor of a homeless man trudging along a snowy downtown street and turned it into a Christmas card. The powerful image revitalized Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Honor Card, an annual greeting card that raises awareness and funds for the homeless population of North Carolina. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the $5 cards go to participating nonprofit organizations, with over $3 million raised since the program’s inception.
Our local shelter, the Hospitality House of Boone, is one beneficiary of the program. Hospitality House will celebrate the 2010 Honor Card with a luncheon and presentation by the artist at Chetola Resort at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, November 8. The event is free; attendees are asked to RSVP by this Friday, November 5.
Mangum became alerted to the plight of the homeless two decades ago after a chance meeting with a mentally ill man named Michael Saavedra.
After a prayer breakfast, Mangum and some friends went to Hardee’s to get a cup of coffee. They saw a rough-and-tumble-looking man sitting in the corner.
“We met eyes and acknowledged each other,” Mangum said. But a moment later, the man was gone. As Mangum was leaving the restaurant, the man reappeared and asked for money.
Instead, Mangum said, “I bought Mike some breakfast. I learned about him and where he was from.” Mangum told Saavedra he knew of a place, Greensboro Urban Ministry, where Saavedra could get clean clothes, a meal and a bed for the night.
As the two men were about to part ways, Mangum impulsively pulled out his business card. “I said, why don’t you call me in a few days,” Mangum recalled.
So began an unlikely friendship. As Mangum got to know Saavedra, he resolved to continue to help people living on the streets. He began volunteering at a weekly prayer breakfast for the homeless in Greensboro.
That summer of 1988, a neighbor told Mangum about Greensboro Urban Ministry’s struggling Honor Card program. The program had existed for two years, but the image, Mangum said, was “a grizzled hand with a tin cup—rather uninspiring.”
Mangum offered to lend his artistic expertise. He sketched his first Honor Card design in the midst of a campaign to revitalize downtown Greensboro. He intended the finished painting, “Not Forgotten,” to be a reminder that, even as the city was spruced up, those who were down-and-out should not be allowed to fall through the cracks.
“I was downtown sketching on the hood of my Jeep at three in the morning,” Mangum remembered, “when Mike came out of the dark, and gave me a bit of a scare.” Mangum asked his friend to model for the painting. In the image, Saavedra walks along the slushy sidewalk, carrying two shopping bags.
The 2010 Honor Card is the 22nd annual card to be released. “Over the years,” Mangum said, “many individuals have crossed my path and become my inspiration.”
This year’s card is based on the true story of a North Carolina man reaching out to a homeless veteran. As a result of the friendship, the veteran now has an automobile detailing business and a roof over his head.
The Honor Card program is partially funded by a grant from Wachovia, and all profits go to nonprofits statewide. Hospitality House of Boone has been helping serve the homeless since 1985, providing meals and beds to those in need. The organization also provides emergency assistance with heating and electric bills. Rock Haven, a permanent supportive housing program with eight efficiency apartments, opened in 2003. The proceeds from the Honor Card program will help to build a new shelter currently under construction.
“The cards not only serve as a fundraiser,” Mangum effuses, “but they really are a voice to share the message. All of us could take our talents and step up to the plate in a variety of ways, whether at a food bank, a clothing bank, a soup kitchen, or otherwise. I feel blessed to have been doing this for 22 years.”
To RSVP for the luncheon with Mangum, call Jill Kuykendall at 828-262-3461 or click to hospitalityhouseofboone.org.
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