I was moved that so many parents there had the opportunity to join with their children in this celebration of the opportunity to do positive things. I know I shared with many people on the day of the event, a feeling that together we could help change things for the better. We controlled the event as well as any event could be controlled.” There is no way everybody will do everything right the first time. An article in the Los Angeles Times 33 years ago today quoted Marty Rogol, one of the organizers: “confusion was inevitable.” He “warned reporters not to ‘nit-pick’” and said further: “we created an event that is unheralded in human history. Hands Across America did have its detractors who claimed it wasn’t well-organized, that it raised nowhere near the money it sought, and that in a number of other ways, it fell short of its goal. The major nonprofit organization (ACTS) supporting the original church shelter scheme has now grown in size and offers a considerable number of programs to support those in need of housing, food, and refuge from abusive domestic situations. The other is an overnight shelter which expanded from just winter use to now providing year-round overnight shelter. One is a drop-in center open several hours per day where showers, meals, counseling, clothes, and other essentials are available. Today, there are two additional facilities to support the homeless. Another new shelter was constructed at the other end of the county. That building was torn down, and a new state-of-the-art shelter was constructed with private rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities, and counseling and employment services. At first, the revolving churches shelter gave way to a renovated old motel with a freestanding kitchen. The money made available for the revolving church shelters in concert with the continued dedication of those and other churches, nonprofit groups, individuals, and the county government would eventually give rise to the creation of permanent shelters. The legacy of Hands Across America in my area of the nation was foundational. In some areas out west, the line didn’t always connect, but estimates said that if the number of people had been evenly spread, the chain could have crossed the nation unbroken. There were more than enough people at that spot, and the line doubled around and, in some spots, tripled around. I heard the same feelings voiced by many. My two young children and I, holding hands in the chain in front of the Lincoln Memorial, felt that event to be very powerful and inspiring. While some criticized the event as a publicity stunt with high administrative costs, the fact is that Hands Across America raised public consciousness to the issues of homelessness, hunger, and other issues relating to poverty. The aim was to channel funds to local charities. Hands Across America was a highly publicized event on May 25, 1986, where some 6 million people held hands in a chain across the United States. A $5,000 grant from the Hands Across America campaign helped bankroll the operation during that winter that helped many avoid spending nights outside. In the early stages of planning for this revolving shelter among churches, it became clear that more funds than initially envisioned would be needed to start and maintain the shelter. Back then, there were no other shelters to house the homeless. There were enough churches and enough turns to last through the winter of that year. At the end of the week, volunteers from that church would bring supplies - cots, bedding, cooking equipment, and other items to the next church hosting the shelter. Beginning on a Sunday night, one church would host the shelter for one week, from 7 p.m. It was a simple plan coordinated by a local nonprofit organization and involving several Prince William County, Va., churches. At seven o’clock, the doors opened, and men, women, and several children got ready to spend the next 12 hours in a warm, safe place. They were preparing food and setting up cots and organizing for a group of homeless people who would spend the night in the small, sparsely furnished parish hall. No one among those church volunteers on a cold night during the winter of 1987 knew how it would turn out.
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