Although David Timothy (a.k.a. The Soup Man) grew up in a home where he experienced the pangs of hunger first hand because of scarcity of food, he was fortunate enough to never experience being homeless. Hence his big compassion for people in need provoked a desire for him to start a ministry that caters to the stomachs of homeless people.
David was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended Western Michigan University where he graduated from in 1970. He had a fulfilling career in insurance for many years until he decided to follow his passion of helping people. David is also known for the Angel Christmas Project he started in 2006 where as many as two hundred and fifty homeless people spend the night in a fancy Dallas hotel and get a sumptuous banquet dinner as well as stockings filled with treats.
Currently, David’s dream is to provide shelter for the homeless. In his own words he says “ in the Dallas area there are more than 10,000 homeless people, but less than 2,000 shelter beds. Simple math tells us that there is not enough 'room at the inn.' Every night thousands of homeless men and women are forced to sleep outside in the elements. They can be found sleeping under bridges, behind dumpsters, in abandoned buildings, in the woods and in makeshift cardboard boxes.
The SoupMobile's main mission has always been feeding the homeless. Now we are expanding our mission to include sheltering them. We are currently in the midst of a fundraising campaign to raise enough money to build a new shelter. Our shelter will be special in many ways. It will offer Job Placement Assistance, Computer Training, Life Skills Teaching and Counseling Services. Most importantly the SoupMobile Shelter will offer an Interfaith Chapel for all residents and guests. Our plan is to offer more than just a bed for the night. Our goal will be to offer a 'hand up' to help them get out of homelessness back into regular society. Building a new shelter in the Dallas area is a bold and daring project. It’s not a project for the faint hearted. It will take vision, daring and support from the local community.
The SoupMan invites you to join in our mission of building a shelter for the 'least of these' in our community. Your donations both small and large are needed as we make sure there is 'room at the inn.â€
On a typical day, the homeless people can tell the SoupMan is near from the blast of the theme music of his favorite film “Rocky†coming out of the van’s loudspeaker system. David loves the movie Rocky because “it is a story of hope, courage and overcoming impossible odds to make it to the top; Rocky triumphed over his circumstances and became a heavy weight champion of the world.†David believes that there is a little bit of Rocky in all of us. He believes that in each of us reside the spirit and the passion to triumph and be the champion in our own lives. The SoupMobile needs hundreds of compassionate and enthusiastic volunteers each year to continue serving healthy meals to the homeless men and women who live on the streets of Dallas. Activities include assisting in preparing, serving and supplying the food to the homeless. Volunteers can also assist in administrative duties. For more information visit www.soupmobile.org.
Pray for the SoupMan that as he meets the needs of other people on a daily basis, so the Lord will meet all his needs, in the name of Jesus. Pray that David will not know lack in any area of his life, in the name of Jesus. Pray that the proposed shelter for the homeless people will be built; that our father will touch the hearts of people to donate so that this cause can get off the ground sooner than expected, in the name of Jesus.
In 2003 his vision to cater to the homeless population was birth through SoupMobile (a mobile soup van with meals) to serve homeless people wherever they gather. During the first year of operation, David served more than 5000 people. Today, SoupMobile serves around 600 meals a day and more than 125,000 meals a year. The target for 2009 is to serve up to 150,000 meals. A typical meal includes a bowl of soup, sandwich, desert, drink, snack and a fruit.
