Hope in Action
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1968 MIFA’s turning 50 ! 2018 HOPE IN ACTION Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association • Summer 2018 • Volume 37 • Number 3 Board of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Milton Lovell Dear friends, CHAIR September 15, 2018, marks MIFA’s 50th anniversary — a landmark Rev. Dorothy Wells VICE CHAIR event! Because MIFA is unique among organizations that Ken Jones have endured for half a century, one stops to consider SECRETARY & LEGAL COUNSEL what has contributed to such longevity. Innovation, Michelle Fulmer ’S JUBIL TREASURER resourcefulness, and strategic planning are FA EE I Y Aarti Bowman among the key qualities of our continuous improvement. And, M E Gregory M. Duckett 8 A without a doubt, generous donors, dedicated volunteers, and 1 R Mark Finestone 0 hardworking staff have carried us through 50 years — and will 2 Paula Jacobson Rabbi Katie Bauman continue to carry us through 50 more. Dr. Stephen Cook In this edition of Hope in Action, we take a look at MIFA’s Lucia Crenshaw Edward Dobbs legacy of engagement including two families whose inter- Brett Grinder generational support endures, a long-time staff member, Uniting5 Sara Hall Margaret McLean and one of our leading faith group founders. the community Gretchen Wollert McLennon With roots that honor the past and pay tribute to the present, through service since 1968 Ted Miller Norma J. Oliver MIFA’s future is sure to flourish. Sehrish Siddiqui Joe Stewart Dr. Bianca Sweeten Tish Towns Dr. Walker Wright Sally Jones Heinz, PRESIDENT & CEO Scott Young Sally Jones Heinz PRESIDENT & CEO Hope in Action staff Share your MIFA memories James Seacat EDITOR Do you have a memorabilia item — a story, or photo? [email protected] (901) 529- 4544 As we prepare for our 50th anniversary celebration, we’re looking for mementos. Contact Jim Seacat at Terri Jones DESIGNER [email protected] or (901) 529-4544 for information Linda Marks on how to conveniently lend your memorabilia. Dorothy Lane McClure CONTRIBUTORS COVER from left: Kat Gordon, Muddy’s Bake Shop founder; and Nubian Simmons, owner of The Pink Bakery. mifa.org/NoGoGala 2 Summer 2018 mifa.org • (901) 527-0208 OUR VISION: Uniting the community through service. CONTRIBUTORS Linda Marks, Dorothy Lane McClure anniversary events Let’s eat Comm unity Days September 1, 2, 3, 8 & 9 People of all faiths and backgrounds gather for a major five-day cake (and other sweet treats) event when congregations across Shelby County partner on projects to benefit the community and help make us better It’s MIFA’s birthday year! neighbors to each other. For your faith group to choose a day, a partner, and a project, contact Linda Marks at (901) 529-4560. Legacy Day September 14, 10 a.m. • 910 Vance Ave. The unveiling of a historical marker commemorates MIFA’s founding and pays tribute to MIFA as the city’s preeminent interfaith organization. Skip the fancy night out. Instead, indulge yourself. Golden Bake a cake at home or visit our favorite Gala October 11, 6 -10 p.m. • Hilton Memphis Memphis sweet shops. Then, donate your Memphis celebrates MIFA! We’ll honor MIFA’s amazing past expenses for a fancy night out to MIFA. and vibrant future in a memorable evening at Hilton Memphis, See how five pastry chefs are helping including a seated dinner, live music, inspirational presenta- celebrate MIFA’s 50th birthday with gourmet tions, and the announcement of special anniversary gift to the delights guaranteed to inspire. community from MIFA. Visit mifa.org/NoGoGala and enjoy For sponsorship information, contact Angela Bledsoe at (901) a sweet night at home! 529-4571. COVER from left: Kat Gordon, Muddy’s Bake Shop founder; and Nubian Simmons, owner of The Pink Bakery. mifa.org/NoGoGala OUR MISSION: Supporting the independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis through high- impact programs. Summer 2018 3 Our present is influenced by our venerable past A mother, daughter share passion for MIFA something meaningful and good out of the devastating event of Dr. When Lucia Crenshaw was a teenager, her mother, Annabelle King’s assassination,” Lucia said. Whittemore, was working day and night as a founder and first board According to Lucia, Annabelle would later recall the challenging chair of MIFA. Lucia continues her mother’s work today as a member times of the 60s, the need for a central voice, and the brave men of MIFA’s board of directors. and women of MIFA, who literally put their lives and careers on the “Mother took her MIFA presidency on as if it was a full-time job line to address justice and civil rights. even though it was a volunteer position,” Lucia recalls. “There was no real MIFA office then, and Forklift operator now director she spread out on our dining From the very start of her 30-year tenure at MIFA, Phyllis Phillips room table, making it her was doing much of the heavy lifting. She drove a forklift, packed headquarters. There were lots food in large freezers, drove a van around the city to pick up food, and lots of meetings, most and unloaded trucks of donated frozen meat. She was the first and were at night. She was gone only paid staff member of the Memphis Food Bank, located in a a lot. Our whole family rallied warehouse on Brooks Road. The Food Bank was a MIFA program around her.” that started in the early 1980s, which later spun off to become its Lucia describes her mother own independent nonprofit organi- as a tenacious note-taker zation known as the Mid-South and record-keeper. The MIFA archives, which include Annabelle’s Food Bank. manually typed inaugural board meeting minutes, corroborate that attribute. “I was privileged to work with Margaret Ryan, Virginia Dunaway, “The challenge was cultivating open lines of communication, and Olivia Bruce and other luminary keeping people connected,” Lucia explained. “There was no email, volunteers,” Phyllis said. “We all no Twitter, no cell phones. So newsletters were important. She was shared the same goal — to help tireless in getting the original newsletters out. And it wasn’t easy. hungry people in the community.” There were no copy machines. She cranked them out using the old stencil mimeograph system — an arduous process — but just another Phyllis left MIFA briefly for a con- example of her tenacity and dedication.” tinuing education opportunity, but she was soon recruited to return by VISTA volunteer Sara Holmes, a MIFA supporter today. “She was a strong believer and advocate for the whole concept Phyllis became a dispatcher in the Transit area and then moved of people of different faiths and races coming together to bring 4 Summer 2018 mifa.org • (901) 527-0208 OUR VISION: Uniting the community through service. to Emergency Services as an intake clerk. One of MIFA’s longest- employed staffers and now the esteemed director of Emergency Services, she helps hundreds of clients each month who’ve experi- enced a temporary crisis with utility, rent, and mortgage. “The face of our average client has changed over the years,” Phyllis explained in her characteristically calm and compassionate manner. “Our clients used to be mostly single mothers, but now we see everybody — seniors, single fathers, two-parent households, and grandparents with guardianship. While the population has changed, the challenges that bring them to MIFA are the same — they can’t quite make ends meet due to an unexpected misfortune.” As a lifeline for individuals and families in difficult situations, Phyllis continues her MIFA heavy lifting today. You can’t miss her caring nature — an attribute that has carried her through 30 years of MIFA service. FRONT, L TO R: Fred Grinder, Cray Grinder, Vivian Grinder, Anne Grinder, Brenda Grinder. BACK: Megan Grinder, Edward Grinder, Brett Grinder, Justin Grinder, Cara Grinder. The Grinder family name is literally imprinted all over MIFA. As general contractors for the renovation of our headquarters at While MIFA headquarters is the most visible example of the 910 Vance, two generations of Grinder expertise combined to Grinders’ multi-generational involvement, their generosity and produce a facility that is both functional and aesthetically compatible leadership is far from confined to bricks and mortar. Brett is an active with MIFA’s solid, no-frills, efficient operations. Brett Grinder recalls, member of the MIFA board. Together with his wife, Megan, parents, “The building was still basically the old Robilio’s grocery store that Brenda and Fred, and brother and sister-in-law, Cara and Justin, had walls and hallways added over the years. During execution of the Grinders are ably co-chairing this year’s $1.18 million Circle of the Louis Pounders-designed overhaul, MIFA’s main concern was Hope annual campaign. And that’s not all. The next generation of keeping Emergency Services open while the rest of the building Grinders have already volunteered to deliver Thanksgiving meals, was being demolished. When the project was finished, our daughter and both parents and sons supported the MIFA Independence Anne — the youngest Grinder family member at the time — cast her Fund, our endowment for future sustainability. handprints in the cement sidewalk out front with other volunteers MIFA is grateful for the Grinders’ legacy of commitment and we and children to mark the grand opening day.” look forward to their continuing imprint in the generations to come. OUR MISSION: Supporting the independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis through high- impact programs. Summer 2018 5 Almost 50 years before MIFA was founded, Temple Israel was already part of its legacy The last four Temple Israel rabbis have been powerful shapers, Assocation submitted an editorial, “An Appeal to Conscience,” to leaders, and sages of MIFA.