My late husband and 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 at ProveItClarksville.com. As a result, countless people were awakened to the needs of our homeless population.
I’ve decided to 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. Initially my goal was to spend every mile asking God for the funds to convert our current food distribution program into a free grocery store called the Manna Market. This project is dear to my heart because it’ll allow clients to select food according to their dietary needs, preferences, or cultural practices; greatly reduce food waste; and promote dignity and honor.
But then I realized that we desperately need support for everyday operations or — to be completely honest — we might not be around to fulfill the bigger dream. I’m going to be very transparent: 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. Thus, my goals have temporarily shifted, and my 100-mile prayer will focus on securing 500 new donors at $30 or more each month to help us with recurring expenses. I’m asking for citywide, monetary support to literally help us keep our doors open.
On September 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, I’ll set off on my prayer walk, completing 10 miles per day (in various parts of the city) for 10 days. Each evening I’ll blog about the experience, picking right up where Kenny left off in late 2020.
During the walk, also check out our Facebook page (facebook.com/mannacafe2010) for updates. Together, we can bring increased stability to Manna so the Manna Market can become reality.
In the words of Kenny himself, Do you care? Prove it.
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