The Homeless Shelter Project was started before our chapter even existed. Deborah Watkins (who is now our President) decided to help homeless men after reading of their invisibility in Warren Farrell's book Myth of Male Power. When the chapter developed, we made this a yearly project.

About the Presbyterian Night Shelter

The Presbyterian Night Shelter in Fort Worth, Texas houses up to 400 people a night, mostly men. Homeless men tend to get less sympathy than women; our society seems to still think that men should always be able to take care of themselves while women still need that extra protection and help. ALL homeless people need our help, but the men tend to get left behind when groups do special projects.

About "Warm Wishes for the Holidays" Program

Each December, the Presbyterian Night Shelter has their "Warm Wishes for the Holidays" program. Individuals and groups are asked to bring in items that could be used over the cold winter months. Many groups will "adopt" children and women. They bring toys for the kids and nice things for the women, along with toiletries and other necessities. Most of the men go un-"adopted".

What NCFM DFW Does Each Holiday Season

Our chapter makes a point to collect items that are most likely to go to a male. Things such as Oil Spice deodorant, Irish Spring soap, etc. Our donations always include lots of stocking caps and high quality gloves for those cold months. We also purchase playing cards, small games and other recreation type items. The volunteer coordinator knows we want our items to go to men if possible. That is usually no problem as the shelter receives relatively few "male specific" donations compared to what they receive for the women and children.

We have also in the past purchased magazine subscriptions for the shelter that are more likely to appeal to the men. This way, instead of laying awake in their cots at night, they will have more than women's magazines and books to read.

Want to Help?

Donations of items and money can both be accepted for this project. All contributors will receive a detailed report of the items collected and what was purchased with the monetary donations.

To help with this project, please mail your monetary donation to the chapter address at the top of this page. You can make your check out to simply "NCFM" and put "Homeless Project" on the memo line. Please include your preferred address (email or snail mail) where your project report should be sent. If you would like to purchase items and donate them, please write or email us to arrange for pick up of your donation.

Did you Miss the Pre-Christmas Deadline?

No problem! Donations of items and money can be accepted for this project at any time of the year. We will happily make extra trips to bring items to the shelter as we receive them. The items that seem to be most scarce throughout the year are: