Pastor starves himself to raise awareness, feed others

People in your community are hungry.

That’s the message Joel Miller, a 43-year-old pastor of an independent church in McKinney, aimed to get across by consuming only water for 17 days to raise awareness of hunger and generate donations for local food pantries.

“Even though I am weak and don’t have a lot of energy,” said Miller, who hadn’t eaten since the beginning of November, “I also feel empowered by what I am seeing going on.”

Miller vowed not to eat until his goal of collecting 30,000 nonperishable food items had been met. After a slow start, his efforts had collected more than 36,000 items by Nov. 17. Donations will continue to be accepted until noon Saturday at locations across the area.

What Miller saw during those two-plus weeks, when he wasn’t sleeping in a tent atop a large trailer parked along North Central Expressway near Eldorado Parkway, were hundreds of people stopping by to join in his mission.

Summer James of McKinney, who recently celebrated her eighth birthday, decided not to ask for gifts at her party. Instead, she asked 30 of her friends to bring food that they could donate to help feed others this holiday season.

“It’s really special and it makes me feel good,” she said. “I hope they like the food and hope their family likes it, too.”

Miller said he knew that McKinney residents would show the same support once the word spread about his hunger strike. And though it was demoralizing for the first 10 days sitting there on an empty truck with nobody bringing food, since then, he said, there was a steady stream of good will from the community.

What allowed him to go weeks without eating, Miller said, is that as a father of four, he could not begin to imagine the mental anguish and stress if he could not feed his children.

“If it’s a matter of them not eating and me not eating – that’s a simple decision,” he said. “I’m going to choose me not eating every time.”

Anne Britton, of McKinney, visited Miller’s trailer Nov. 13, with her four sons.

“We’re trying to teach our boys about responsibility and God calls them to take care of others,” she said. “We know this is a hard time for some people. Right now, we are blessed, so we want to share the blessings with other people.”

Miller said it’s not only the matter of raising food for the less fortunate. For him, it is also about the community coming together to achieve a common goal this holiday season.

That feeling of being connected to the community is something Miller looked forward to before reaching his goal.

“It’s not going to be ‘I did it’ – it will be ‘We did it.’ I will feel like my community and I did something tangible that made a difference this year.

“That collectiveness is going to be exciting.”

GET INVOLVED

• Donations of nonperishable food items will continue to be accepted until noon Saturday at locations across the area. For a list of drop-off locations, visit tinyurl.com/McKinneyFoodDropOff

• For more information, visit mckinneyfooddrive.com.

STAFF PHOTOS BY DONNIE WYAR

Donnie Wyar is the McKinney neighborsgo editor and can be reached at 469-330-5692.

GIVING GUIDE

Here are some charitable organizations in your community:

THE SAMARITAN INN

• Web site: thesamaritaninn.org

• Who they are: The Samaritan Inn is the only homeless shelter in Collin County and assists people in becoming independent again.

• Communities: Based in McKinney, it serves all of Collin County.

• Biggest need right now: Financial assistance is always needed to meet its $2 million annual budget. Donations of food, personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies and over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, cough syrup and cold remedies are also always needed.

• Community contact: Lynne Sipiora, executive director: 972-542-5302 or lynnesipiora@thesamaritaninn.org

FAMILY PROMISE

• Web site: familypromiseofcollincounty.org

• Who they are: A network of religious congregations with the mission “to provide food, shelter and support services to Collin County families with children as they regain sustainable independence.”

• Communities: Collin County, but the current host congregations are from Allen, Lucas, McKinney and Plano.

• Biggest need/goal right now: More congregations – the goal is 13, currently there are six; office area for day-center – 1,000-1,500 square feet with provisions for showers and washer/dryer connections; qualified social service worker for director position; financial support

• Community contact: Gary Rodenbaugh, treasurer: 972-727-3454 ext. 235

NORTH COLLIN COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

• Web site: ncc-habitat.org

• Who they are: Habitat works in partnership with God and his people to develop communities by enabling families to achieve the dream of homeownership with dignity.

• Communities: North Collin County, including McKinney, Frisco, Celina, Melissa, Princeton, Prosper, Farmersville, Anna and unincorporated areas

• Biggest need/goal right now:  Land, sponsors for homes, in-kind donations of materials and donations for the ReStore of new and used building materials

• Upcoming events: supply drive for these items: paper towels, toilet paper, bottled water, construction tools and supplies, gift cards to home improvement stores, copy paper.

• Community contact: Celeste Haiduk Faro, executive director: 972-542-5300 ext. 100 or celeste@ncc-habitat.com

CASA OF COLLIN COUNTY (Court Appointed Special Advocates)

• Web site: casaofcollincounty.org

• Who they are: Its mission is to train community volunteers as advocates on behalf of abused and neglected children involved in the court system

• Communities: Collin County

• Biggest need/goal right now: Gift cards for Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney and other child/teen-oriented stores

• Community contact: Kathy Blank, development director: 972-529-2272 ext. 103 or kblank@casaofcollincounty.org

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Neighborsgo editors Saerom Yoo, Angela Chambers, Emily Goldstein and Donnie Wyar contributed to this report.