December 5, 2024 • 42 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to the Roy West Show here on News
Talk five sixty k l v I. You can always
stream the show live every Sunday from noon to one
on the free iHeart Radio app or are at the
Heart Radio app. You can also check out this or
any of my podcasts there as well, and on Apple
(00:23):
podcasts and Android podcasts and Spotify all those fun places.
And I have with me the music director of the
Symphony of Southeast Texas, Chelsea Tipton, the second, welcome back
to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thank you for having me. Happy Holidays to you and
your viewers. And we are we are up and going
with lots of concerts going on. This is always a
busy time for professional musicians in general, right And you know,
we have lots of lots of nutcrackers that are going around,
lots of Messiah's Lamar Universe has uh they're doing the
(01:01):
Messidas is coming after the podcast, before the podcast, but
this coming is coming Friday. It's something that you know,
I go to it every year. It's like there are
certain traditions that people always like to go and attend,
and we hope that the Symphony of Southeast Texas is
another one of those traditions.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, and it is a wonderful time and we are
so fortunate to have the Symphony of Southeast Texas here
celebrating seventy two years.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Is that right, that's correct, seventy two years. You know,
we're featuring Jimmy Simmons on our holiday concert on this
coming December eighth, this coming Sunday. And he was telling
me last night that he's played with the orchestra for
sixty two years. He's played in the orchestra, he's conducted
(01:49):
the orchestra, he's done a rangers for the orchestras. It's
a long, long history with him and he's such an amazing,
amazing musician. We're happy to feature him on our upcoming
holiday concert.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
He is, he's a great man, done so much here
in Southeast Texas, all the way being president of Lamar University,
so he has worn many hats. And you know, one thing,
there are people here, some that hadn't experienced a Symphony
of Southeast Texas, and you know, a community our size,
(02:24):
we're real fortunate to be able to have this quality
of symphony and having had it so long, and you know,
but sometimes people, you know, they don't know necessarily what
to expect, because until you get exposed to the symphony,
you may not know. You most people have something in
their mind what it's like. And I know it wasn't
(02:44):
until the last several years that I got exposed to
the symphony. Now we're season ticket holders, and I really
enjoy the symphony very much, but it's also it wasn't
what I thought. And you know, and so let's talk
a little bit about what people can expect.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, when you come to any type of concert, you
want to have a connection to the artists, to the experience.
And what we are providing is an experience when you
go to the movie theaters. You know, it's the same
thing when you go to a movie. You walk into
the theater with the same and you leave the same
thing you came in with. So we're providing an experience
(03:21):
for them, and we try to make it an experience
where they feel a part of the.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Program.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And so I oftentimes for concerts, especially for pops concerts,
but also for classical concerts, I talk to the audience.
I play excerpts so that people can feel a little
bit more comfortable about what they're hearing. We all put
up walls about the arts. I've done the same thing.
I remember when I first moved here. I moved here
sixteen years ago. Shelley Batanza took me to a Jason
(03:52):
Alden concert, who's a country artist. I'd never been to
a country concert, country music concert, and I remember thinking, like,
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
It's going to be for me. I had a great time.
The people were so nice, the music was so good,
and so.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I'm subject to that as well, putting up musical walls
about what I think experiences should be like.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
But we try to provide what the community wants.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
When we talk about programming, what selections or concerts we
want to put on, we try to listen to the community.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
It's not just what I wanted, what the orchestra wants,
but what.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Does the community need and how much musical content we
need to put out there as well. We put too much,
it's just too much and enough. Then we get we
get forgotten. So we're always Jamie Strather, our executive director, myself,
Jamie's lived here all of his life. He has a
very good sense of the pulse of the community. He
(04:46):
and I talk constantly about what does the community need
to have from the Symphony of Southeast Texas, And when
I came here sixteen years ago, there was no holiday concert,
and we immediately thought, we need to do a holiday concert,
so we we got that in the works.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And and the January that's coming January.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
We have our education concerts for fifth graders the b I,
s D and surrounding school systems.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
These are just.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
All all part of the web of what it takes
to be an arts organization in the community.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Well and in the education component. I love because you're
exposing the symphony to, you know, people that perhaps their
parents hadn't been exposed to it, and you know they
can catch the bug if you will and say this
is really cool. And I know for me, you know
it is you and you do a great job.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
You're the whole symphony.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
But in terms of including the audience in what is happening,
there's not you know, you don't make broad assumptions and
and you and you help, there's there's audience participation because
of the education, and it makes it more fun. And
that was that was my biggest if you will surprise
and take away that I really enjoyed and because it
(06:05):
gives you a far greater appreciation well, and.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I think about it when I go to see go
to a museum and I see works of art, I
have nothing, I have no understanding about it. But if
I go with someone who can point out various aspects
of what I'm watching, what I'm looking at, it makes
it much more impactful. When we take that same approach
with the symphony, I think all my colleagues on stage,
(06:31):
we all had those same experiences to play in the orchestra.
And we're not trying to make music majors out of
these young people who come to our concerts. We're just
trying to give them a sense of music appreciation. And
what I find is with adults, especially adults here in Beaumont,
is they'll say.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I remember going to the Julie Rogers Theater.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
When I was a kid to see the Nutcracker, or
to see to see a concert, or to see the
big chandelier. They have these wonderful remembrances, and that's what
we want to create rememberance. And then maybe they might
want to be on a board of an arts organization,
Maybe they might want to just usher, Maybe they might
just want to bring their family to see the Nutcracker
(07:11):
because they had that exposure when they were young people.
So you know, it takes a cross section of people
in the community who to support an orchestra. And if
you just attune it to one segment of the population,
then the rest of the rest of the community is
left out. That's not the way to go. I believe
(07:33):
in the complete web of support. I don't care how
much money you make. I don't care what color of
your skin is. If you want to come to the symphony,
we have something for you. And I don't care what
you wear. That's the last question. I get a lot
of times, what should I wear? Where is somebody that's comfortable.
Just wear something that you can be comfortable with, that
you can take in the music and not be don't
be self conscious. You want everyone to be part of
(07:55):
our sost experience here in Beaumont, Texas.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You know that up and I hadn't even thought about that,
but that is something some people and certainly.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
People going in black ki and you know, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Formal wear and having gone to many concerts and being
season ticket holders, you see people dressed.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Kind of as they live.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
I mean, you know, and there are there are people
in coat and ties, but there are people in in
jeans and you know, cowboy boots and are you know
whatever they're comfortable in like you said, and I don't
think there's an expectation because it is about the art,
It is about the music and UH, and it is
it's so cool.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
To have that present here. And then also the array
of shows. I mean, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
All what you what y'all present in the season and
I know you know, we don't have that much time left,
but kind of tell people about the concert series and
who they can you know, expect to hear from.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And the remainder of this year, well.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
We've got there.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
How they spectacular that's coming up on eighth, February eighth,
we have an evening of love songs. We have the
music of George Gershwin. We have a wonderful singer who's
been going to be coming in for that. We have
Soul Full, our Pops Concert March fifteenth, R and B, Motown, Funk,
Disco and beyond. And then we'll close out the season
(09:18):
on April fifth with Old to Joy our Beethoven ninth Symphony.
And so to what you said, we have to have
versatile players. We have to have people who can do
lots of different styles. That's what we have with the SOST.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, I know you do. And y'all's website is s
o ST dot org. So it can't be any easier.
I mean that's only eight You only have to type
in eight you know, letters and a dot to get there,
and you can you can get tickets, you can find
out about the series. But you know, so also you know,
(09:54):
I've taken grandkids there and you know, and it's a
special treat for them. But you know, it's really worth
checking out. It's very reasonably priced and you're going to
have an incredible experience, and you know, supporting this, uh,
I just applaud It's it's not just about supporting the
(10:16):
people that come to the concert. It's about supporting our community,
educating the kids and uh and giving back.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
And y'all do a tremendous job with that.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
We appreciate you getting the worried out about our wonderful orchestra,
and we appreciate your support.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
I see you at so many of our concerts. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think that that rings a certain amount into the
community of support for the arts.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Well, we've got just about a minute left and I
want to remind people they can go to the website.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You don't have to buy season tickets. You can get you.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Can get tickets, single tickets for whichever event you want
to go to UH and and that's certainly where I
would advise people to start because you don't but there
you can get a lot of information. And the only
way the symphony happens is you know, one thing is
our proximity to Houston and having so many UH musicians
(11:09):
that are able to come over, but local musicians also participate.
But to be able to because it is quite a production,
UH being able to when when you go to these concerts,
I mean, there's a lot of people involved, and we.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Like to have our great guest artists from around the country,
from around the world, but we also like to feature
people in our community as well and and feature them
as solos like Jimmy Simmons, like the SYSC Chorus. We
have such great talent right here in Southeast Texas, so
we want people to come out support the orchestra. Sost
dot Orger eight nine two two two five seven. You
(11:44):
can give us a call and we can set you
up right.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hey, Chelsea Tipton, thank you so much, and we will
talk again soon and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
You haven't merry Christmas as well? Thank you?
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Mayor all right, bye bye.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I and folks. Carol Fernandez
with Catholic Charities is back with us. And I always
love having Carol on the show because Catholic Charities has
a huge footprint and impact in Southeast Texas, really enhancing
(12:25):
people's lives.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
And Carol, thank you so much for being on the
show today.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Sir.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
I'm always always happy to have this opportunity to be
on the show, so appreciate.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
It absolutely well. So tell people if you will. You've
got some gift giving ideas which I love. We talked
about a little bit before, but a little five thousand
foot view of Catholic Charities.
Speaker 6 (12:48):
Surely, surely, surely so about the gift giving idea.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
So this is something that I didn't learn about until
I came to Catholic Charities, and that is, you know,
for someone who may be on your gift list, it's
just very hard to shop for you don't know what
to get for them, or maybe it's someone that you
feel like, oh, well, they have everything, what more could
you get for them? For that person, why not consider
(13:11):
giving them a gift that is a donation to Catholic
charities in their honor. And so with that donation, we
would send a letter to that individual letting them know
that a donation or a gift has been made in
their honor, and we can say who gave the gift
or it could be anonymous if a donor would like that.
And so, you know, so why give a gift like
(13:33):
that to Catholic charities. Well, one thing is that unlike
the gift purchases and retail stores those Christmas gifts, your
donation to Catholic charities, we are five oh one C
three nonprofits, So that.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
Would be a tax deductible a gift.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
So you're still getting a gift to someone and you're
getting a tax deductible donation. So also you know your
gift is helping that gift donation is helping people in need.
You know, donors can be that that gift is going
to have a very wide reach. So last fiscal year,
our fiscal year ended in June thirtieth, our last one,
(14:09):
and so we had served at our hospitality Center, our
soup kitchen that's in Port Arthur. We served more than
thirty three thousand meals, Mayor out at the hospitality center.
And then Market to Hope, which you know, Hope stands
for help other People Eat. That's our grocery store and
food pantry. We served more than three thousand families there
(14:31):
and gave out more than a million pounds of food
through the market. So definitely these gift donations really have
a very wide reach. And you know, for anyone who
might be concerned Catholic charities, yes, we are Catholic with
the big sea, but we are Catholic with the little
letter C, and that we are universal and so no
(14:55):
one has to be of the Catholic.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
Faith to receive services and get help from care Atholic charities.
So definitely a wide reach. And then Mayor, as you said,
we have a pretty big footprint geographically, and that we
serve nine counties in this area, and I.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
Like to do them in alphabetical order so that I
hope I get them all. So it's Chambers, Jasper, Jefferson, Harden, Liberty, Newton, Orange,
Polk and Tyler counties that we serve, and so all
of our programs are available to low to moderate income
residents of those areas. You know, we have primarily worked
(15:34):
in Beaumont in Jefferson County in terms of physical presence.
So we have our central service facility on East tex
Freeway in Beaumont where we do our counseling services, Elijah's
Place Home Matters, immigration services. We have as I mentioned,
hospitality center, the Soup Kitchen on Golfway Drive in Port Arthur.
(15:55):
Market to Hope here in Beaumont is on the same
campus with our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church over on
Sarah Street.
Speaker 6 (16:02):
But we now, and I.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Didn't get to tell you this before we got started,
we actually have a new physical location, our Western Service
Facility that's in Winnie, Texas. And so from that location
we're also going to have Market to Hope, our food pantry,
offering that immigration services, counseling services.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
And hopefully more, but definitely those. It just gives us.
Speaker 7 (16:26):
It makes it easier for the clients and families that
need the help to get that help, for us to
physically be there on a regular basis. We are in
our other counties, but not every day, you know, And
so so having this physical presence there in Chambers County
is really going to go a long ways and being
able to help families there and also out there Mayor.
(16:50):
We have a new social enterprise venture that we started
back in July. So we acquired the Saint Vincent de
Paul thrift store that is on Highway one twenty four
in Winning and so this is also very new to us.
So it's our resale shop that we're calling the thrift Barn,
(17:11):
and so it's very very new. I can't share a
whole lot about it because we're learning it and getting
it going and in that transition phase right now. But
I hope that maybe later after the holidays, that you'll
invite us back at some point and we can give
more information about how people can support that effort.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Absolutely, and this is you know when people talk about
given where you live, this is this is our back door.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
This is I mean our backyard.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And when you know also what's so important is you know,
Catholic Charities is very broad based, very involved in a
lot of the challenges that poverty brings to people. And
in terms of when people are looking for help, Catholic
(17:59):
charity when they don't provide a service, they know who
to send people to and a lot of those services
also send people to Catholic charities because trying to avoid
redundancies and areas but meet the needs of the people
and UH and being creative in how you can effectively
do that, yes.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Sir, and so that is important, you know.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
We I just had the director of our counseling services
come to me yesterday to say that that some of
the schools are interested in working with Catholic Charities because
we have a counselor, a mental health counselor who is
bilingual in Spanish in English, and that is just a
(18:42):
significant need in the community that we don't have enough
counselors to help the children who need that service. And
so that will be a new partnership that we will
have coming soon to be able to work with the
schools to offer those services. Elijah's Play is another service,
the Grief Support program. We primarily work from our main
(19:05):
office here, but we realize that we can't reach all
the kids who need grief support just in our office
on the days that we're working. So Randy, the director
of the program, has been going into the schools one
to work with the staff in the schools. The teachers
and all of the administrators to help them understand children's
(19:28):
grief and how they can help facilitate them, refer them
to Elijah's places necessary, or in some cases, we're actually
doing some grief support sessions in the schools, so while
the kids are there, we're able to go in and
help them if they've had the loss of Sometimes it's
been in case maybe it's a classmate, it's someone very
(19:51):
close to them in the school, or it could just
be that it is a family member that they have
had the loss experience that death and is able to
go in and do sessions in the schools and just
do some great support there. So always new opportunities to
collaborate with other agencies. You know, we have been working
(20:12):
to rehouse some folks through what we call our Home
Matters program, and you know, for someone who's been homeless,
when they get back into housing, they need a lot
of stuff, and so we've been able to work with
other agencies that have furniture and housing supplies and different
things and get them set up and re established in
(20:35):
their homes. So always always great to be able to
work with our community partners in the area well.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Oftentimes as we're talking about here.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
It just reminds me that there's layers to every challenge
that exists, and it involves that, whether you know, when
it's dealing with people that have been unsheltered, homeless, whatever
term is used, getting preparing them and educating them on
how to be successful as that change, and not just
(21:06):
put people in an apartment or something and expect everything
to work out because they're dealing with things that they're
not used to dealing with. That's correct, and so you know,
there's an education component to this. There's always need for volunteers,
so financially and physically volunteering, and as you pointed out,
(21:27):
this is for everybody, so you don't have to be
Catholic to participate. You can be of other faiths to volunteer,
and there's just a process and you can you can learn.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
About all of that.
Speaker 7 (21:38):
Yes, So our website is c c s E. T
X for Catholic Churitiessoutheast Texas dot org. You can learn
about all of our programs there. You can also learn
about volunteering. You can donate online, so please please go
to our website learn more about our programs and find
out how you can get involved and be a part.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Merry Christmas, Nery Christmas.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I. And remember, folks, you
can always download the free iHeartRadio app, stream the show
live wherever you get out of your car, or check
out this is a podcast or any of the prior
shows as podcast on iHeart, Apple podcast, Android podcast and
(22:29):
Spotify and all those other platforms I have with me
Jack Seeley with Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Jack welcome
back to the show you've been on several times. Let's
tell people a little bit about what sleep and Heavenly
Peace is here locally, in the impact y'all are having,
and how long y'all been operating.
Speaker 8 (22:51):
Thank you, Roy. We always enjoy being on the show.
We've been at this five and a half years, and surprise,
we have delivered almost forty six hundred and fifty beds
here to youth three aged three to seventeen here in
(23:12):
Orange Jefferson in Hardin Counties. Currently we have forty five
requests for one hundred beds that we're going to try
to deliver before Christmas, so we need some help delivering.
Our next delivery day is on the fourteenth, and all
it takes is two or more people with a pickup
(23:36):
truck or a large suv and the willingness to work.
Go into people's homes with these disassembled beds, put them together,
put a brand new mattress on, dress up the bed
with all new bedclothes and the pillows so they're ready
to sleep.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
In when they leave.
Speaker 8 (23:57):
And many volunteers say this is the most fun part
of being involved with SHP because in many cases you
get to interact with the kids that are getting these
beds and they get so excited. In fact, they get
so excited sometimes they want to help you put the
bed together, which of course is fun, but it doubles
(24:19):
the length of time it takes to put a bed together.
But it's so exciting to see these kids. So we
need help getting another one hundred beds out before Christmas,
and we're available during the week to accommodate people that
have the time, be their retirees, shift workers, whatever. If
(24:41):
you could find two to three hours to devote to us,
give me a call and we'll get somebody lined up
for you to deliver to the majority of the deliveries
are here in Jefferson County.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Well, you know what, there are so many components to this,
and I know when you got started this is I
think now international organization base, but this is but the
one here locally serves the people here in this community,
and it's kids that don't have beds, and for some
it's pretty surprising that there are so many kids that
(25:18):
sleep on the floor or you know, sleep on couches,
and you know, so there's some betting here. It's meeting
those needs and it's hard standing up and then you
know from from from in terms of creating the beds
in your shop, that's one level of it. And sometimes
people like doing that because they do that on a
(25:39):
Saturday at a certain time. But the delivery is, like
you say, equally is important because people got to get
those beds.
Speaker 8 (25:49):
Well, you're right, Roy, that it is an international organization.
We're in every state in the United States and all
the provinces of Canada that border on the US. Actively,
all of those three hundred and fifty plus chapters in
twelve years of existence have built and delivered over a
(26:09):
quarter of a million beds. Two hundred and fifty thousand beds.
The goal by thirty thirty four is to have delivered
a million beds, and it's very doable. Here in our area.
The population for the area that we serve is something
(26:29):
around three hundred and thirty thousand people. They unscientific numbers,
but they seem to be holding true. Is that two
to three percent of the population are kids that don't
have a bed of their own. If you do the
math here in our area that we serve, that's somewhere
(26:50):
between sixty five hundred and ten thousand kids don't have
a bed of their own. And we serve, like I
said before, kids three to seven that are sleeping on
the floor, sleeping with a sibling or an adult, or
sleeping in a chair or on a couch. And it's
amazing how many kids fit into that category.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Well. And also with that, you know that it affects kids'.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Quality of life, you know, having a safe place to sleep,
knowing where you're sleep, and I know you've had lots
of stories of you know how it really enhances kids' lives.
And you know, kids need a good night sleeper, they're
going to be functioning well in school and all those
kind of things and sometimes their families just aren't able
(27:39):
to provide that.
Speaker 8 (27:41):
Yeah, very true. We are unique. Name that they came
up with is help stamp out bedlessness. The idea of
being that like you said, every kid needs a good
night's sleep, they do better in school and hopefully later
on they do better in life.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Right.
Speaker 8 (28:02):
It gives them some security that they may not have
at this point.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Well and as a community and through your leadership with this,
you know, it also sends a message to kids that
people care. You know, I mean they you know, when
you have people that don't know you that are bringing
you a bed because they care about you. And like
you said, everybody gets a new mattress, everybody gets a
new bedding, uh, and they get the beds are made
(28:29):
out of out of wood. They're not extremely fancy, but
they're gonna last a long time. They're well built, and
they can be bunked if needed for space. But it
is showing these uh, these children that people care for them,
and other things can come from that.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
Oh yeah, I have a little speech that if there's
kids present when we deliver the beds, and we always
try to do it when there's kids there, I'll say
kids Now you got under stand that people that you
don't know, you've never met, and probably never will get
to meet, found out that you needed the bed to
(29:08):
sleep in. So we raised two hundred and fifty dollars
any way that we could for each of these beds.
Then we bought the lumber, we made it into all
the pieces and parts we need for the beds. We
bought mattresses, people donated bedding, and we're giving them to you.
(29:31):
They're your beds. But promise me that when you no
longer need the bed, you give it to somebody that
does need a bed, pass it on. And then I
always at the end of that say and if your
mom calls me and tells me that you've been jumping
on the bed or that you haven't made it every morning,
(29:51):
we'll have to come get it. And raising the looks
we get out of both the parents and the adults,
the kids are still led, and of course the parents
are about to break off laughing.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Well, you know, I think the ministry is so important
and it is making a difference here in Southeast Texas,
and you can be a part of it too. They
need volunteers because this is a volunteer driven organization. And
if you think you need to be an engineer, because
I'm not particularly mechanical or handy, you don't need to be.
(30:27):
This is all the way from the building days to
the delivery days. It's very All you got to do
is do one thing after the other. It's not sophisticated.
You don't have to have unique tools and are a
skill set to be able to do that is it
is doable. So I just you know, I want to
encourage people to participate because it makes a big difference.
Speaker 8 (30:51):
I get asked quite often how long does it take
to put a bed together? And my answer is less
than ten minutes, But that's after you get it into
the room and we'll loan you the tools to put
it together, which is nothing more than a cordless drill.
Right yeah, more information on our chapter. Now, if they
(31:11):
go to SHP beds dot org, it takes you directly
to our chapter website and you can find out all
the information you really need and it tells you the
upcoming events and you can go ahead and register for
them online.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Right right, Well, I want to thank you for your
time and being on here and sleeping Heavenly Peace is
making a significant impact in Southeast Texas. So I'm grateful
and excited for that, and I appreciate your leadership in
this because this is something that you did just because
you heard about it, and you've made a commitment that
(31:52):
has made a big difference in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
So sleep and Heavenly Piece.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
You could google it, find out more information and begin
your journey to be involved there or if you know
a family and need so thank you so much for
coming on today.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Okay, thanks Roy, talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. I I have with me
Sharon Begnoe with the Giving Field right here in Beaumont, Texas.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 9 (32:23):
Sharing Hi, Roy, thank you so much for having me again.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Well, it's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
And if you would tell people, I mean, you've been
on before, and I think the Giving Field is very
well known here in Southeast Texas, but there's probably still
some people that are unfamiliar with it and so tell
people about it.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
So the Giving Field is located on Liberty Street in Beaumont.
It's a one acre organic garden and everything that we
harvest we send to area soup kitchens to feed the hungry.
So the three agencies that we send to are the
Hospitality Center in Port Arthur, some other place in Beaumont,
(33:02):
and Market to Hope, which is like a grocery store program.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
That's a Catholic Charities program.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
And all of these programs are for everybody. They serve
the community, the entire community. And you know, one acre garden.
It requires a lot of work, a lot of community
involvement for success, and.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
It also brings back for those that have lost the
art of gardening how to garden right.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
So we on average will harvest about seven thousand pounds
each year to send to those three agencies, and it does.
It takes a lot of hands and so many people
in the community come out and help us. And we also,
back to your point about the art of gardening.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
We also couple a really good educational component with what
we do.
Speaker 5 (34:04):
So we want to teach people how to garden organically,
we want.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
To teach people how to be more sustainable of the earth.
And at the same time, you're doing something great for
your community.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Well, and and that's exactly right.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
You're making a difference in the lives of others, but
you're also learning something. And you know, you I know,
when I was growing up, a lot of the grandparents
and sometimes even parents did gardens, but you see fewer
of them.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
And there really is an art to gardening, you know,
It's something that had been.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Taught from generation to generation and now it's got lost.
Speaker 4 (34:44):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
So, you know, if you want to have a garden
and be successful, there's really a lot you need to learn,
and that's by volunteering at the Giving Field. You can
also learn that. But y'all, y'all are going beyond that too,
because y'all have a fundraiser happening right now, that's right, So.
Speaker 5 (35:01):
We are gearing up to build a kitchen classroom out
at the Giving Field. So it's going to be another
extension for a way for us to feed the hungry.
So in this kitchen classroom, we are going to not
only educate people on how to cook a healthy.
Speaker 9 (35:19):
Meal, adults and kids.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
You know, a lot of kids come home to a
household where both the parents are working and the best
thing that the parents can do for their family is
usually convenience food, which I mean, that's what they can do.
So we feel like if we can teach kids some
basic cooking skills that they could take that into their
(35:43):
homes and help their families eat healthier. And also in
this kitchen classroom, these kids are going to help us
create like those reheat and eat meals that you see
at some of the grocery stores in town, so that
specifically Market to Hope can provide that for their clients.
That's a product that they do not have currently for
(36:05):
their clients in their program.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Well, and Market to Hope is is that's a subject
into itself.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
It's already and it's recreating itself.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
My understanding is they might be opening up another one
in another area, but it all it's it's really neat
and impressive and serves a great need. But this is
about you know, community collaboration, working together to make the
overall community better and also to show that you know,
the community matters and that people matter. So tell us
(36:40):
about this fundraiser that's going on.
Speaker 9 (36:43):
So we are selling bricks.
Speaker 5 (36:45):
We're going to have a patio outside of the kitchen
classroom and there are bricks that you can have engraved
on there, you know, in memory and of someone, or
in honor of someone, or maybe you just want your
family name on there. You know, to show your support
for the people in our community that need help. And
so the bricks are two hundred and fifty dollars. They're
(37:09):
a great Christmas gift and we will be having, like
I said, this patio outside of the kitchen classroom. The
money's going to help us raise the money to build
the kitchen classroom.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Well in that education process with the kids in the
kitchen classrooms, just another component that you're adding. And y'all
have a great Facebook page where people can get a
lot of information as well.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
Yes, yeah, we sure do.
Speaker 5 (37:38):
So people can go to the Facebook page, they can
find the information about our brick program and many other things.
And you know the times that we're out there to volunteer,
which we're out there every Tuesday morning from seven thirty
to nine thirty, every Thursday afternoon from four to six,
and the second Saturday of every month from nine to in.
(38:00):
But we have groups that come in besides those times.
You just reach out to us and you can schedule
a time for maybe. You know, we have a lot
of homeschool groups that are you know, finding us and
doing things at the field.
Speaker 9 (38:14):
We have a lot of.
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Businesses that kind of use it as a team building
thing for their employees, and sometimes they want to do
something separate beyond the open volunteer times.
Speaker 9 (38:26):
They want to do something that's just exclusive to their group,
and we can accommodate that as well.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Well.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
I appreciate all that you do. And you know, the
Giving Field is a five oh one C three, so
that's important. These are taxed, deductible donations and it you know,
you're given where you live.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
That's right here in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 9 (38:48):
Yeah, that's correct. So it takes many people to do
what we do.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
It takes uh, people's time, it takes people's treasure, it
takes people's creativity, you know.
Speaker 9 (39:00):
And we're really proud to say that.
Speaker 5 (39:04):
The people that come and help us at the Giving
Field come from many areas in Beaumont and Southeast Texas
and it's you know, it's just it's a great gathering
place as well.
Speaker 9 (39:15):
It's everybody really enjoys being out there.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Well, this is how long has the Giving Field been around? Now,
it's a long time, and so it is it stood
the test of time. And it's also I think, you know,
given some direction for some others in the community.
Speaker 9 (39:35):
Right. So we started it back in twenty twelve, so
we're twelve years old, and.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
We hope to be able to help other organizations create
a similar model to what we're doing, because we are
just servicing three agencies, and there's so many more agencies
and so many more people in our community that need
this help of eating healthy well.
Speaker 4 (40:02):
Sharon begno, thank you so much. The Giving Field.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
You can find them on Facebook at the Giving Field
on Liberty Street. It's super easy you can and there's
a link there to give or to get more information,
as well as the phone number for zero nine to
zero one eight seven zero two. Thank you so much, Sharon.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
Thank you, Roy talk to you soon. Okay, we are
back and we're wrapping up another.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Roy West show here on News Talk five sixty klv
I folks, remind you all the time that we're on
the free iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
So if you missed any part of the show or
any of our prior shows and you want.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
To go back and watch them, you can just go
to iHeart, download the app, go to Apple podcast, Android podcast, Spotify.
We're on all those platforms. Today's show, we had music
director Chelsea Tipton of the Symphony of Southeast Tech they've
got shows coming up here in Folks, the Symphony makes
(41:05):
a huge impact here in Southeast Texas in the schools
of bringing and arts are all so important, so be
sure to check out Symphony of Southeast Texas online to
get your tickets, and they have a show coming up
right around the corner, and then many more in the spring.
Then I talked to Carol Fernandez with Catholic Charities. She's
(41:27):
the executive director over there, and she was talking about
how people can give gifts in the names of other
people this holiday season because sometimes there's people that are
hard to buy for and Catholic Charities need your money
and they serve seven counties, make a huge impact here
in Southeast Texas, and they serve people of all faiths.
Speaker 4 (41:50):
So check them out.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
And you can check out Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas
online for more information or to get and also finding
out about all the ministries they provide. Jack Seeley with
Sleeping Heavenly Peace, another great organization that delivers beds to
kids without beds they're in need.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
You can Google or find them on Facebook. Sleep a
Heavenly Peace.
Speaker 1 (42:12):
And then Sharon Begno with the Giving Field and they
have a fundraiser going on right now. So many great
organizations making a huge impact here in Southeast Texas. Until
we talk again, God bless you all.
You're listening to the Roy West Show here on News
Talk five sixty k l v I. You can always
stream the show live every Sunday from noon to one
on the free iHeart Radio app or are at the
Heart Radio app. You can also check out this or
any of my podcasts there as well, and on Apple
(00:23):
podcasts and Android podcasts and Spotify all those fun places.
And I have with me the music director of the
Symphony of Southeast Texas, Chelsea Tipton, the second, welcome back
to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thank you for having me. Happy Holidays to you and
your viewers. And we are we are up and going
with lots of concerts going on. This is always a
busy time for professional musicians in general, right And you know,
we have lots of lots of nutcrackers that are going around,
lots of Messiah's Lamar Universe has uh they're doing the
(01:01):
Messidas is coming after the podcast, before the podcast, but
this coming is coming Friday. It's something that you know,
I go to it every year. It's like there are
certain traditions that people always like to go and attend,
and we hope that the Symphony of Southeast Texas is
another one of those traditions.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Well, and it is a wonderful time and we are
so fortunate to have the Symphony of Southeast Texas here
celebrating seventy two years.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Is that right, that's correct, seventy two years. You know,
we're featuring Jimmy Simmons on our holiday concert on this
coming December eighth, this coming Sunday. And he was telling
me last night that he's played with the orchestra for
sixty two years. He's played in the orchestra, he's conducted
(01:49):
the orchestra, he's done a rangers for the orchestras. It's
a long, long history with him and he's such an amazing,
amazing musician. We're happy to feature him on our upcoming
holiday concert.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
He is, he's a great man, done so much here
in Southeast Texas, all the way being president of Lamar University,
so he has worn many hats. And you know, one thing,
there are people here, some that hadn't experienced a Symphony
of Southeast Texas, and you know, a community our size,
(02:24):
we're real fortunate to be able to have this quality
of symphony and having had it so long, and you know,
but sometimes people, you know, they don't know necessarily what
to expect, because until you get exposed to the symphony,
you may not know. You most people have something in
their mind what it's like. And I know it wasn't
(02:44):
until the last several years that I got exposed to
the symphony. Now we're season ticket holders, and I really
enjoy the symphony very much, but it's also it wasn't
what I thought. And you know, and so let's talk
a little bit about what people can expect.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Well, when you come to any type of concert, you
want to have a connection to the artists, to the experience.
And what we are providing is an experience when you
go to the movie theaters. You know, it's the same
thing when you go to a movie. You walk into
the theater with the same and you leave the same
thing you came in with. So we're providing an experience
(03:21):
for them, and we try to make it an experience
where they feel a part of the.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Program.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And so I oftentimes for concerts, especially for pops concerts,
but also for classical concerts, I talk to the audience.
I play excerpts so that people can feel a little
bit more comfortable about what they're hearing. We all put
up walls about the arts. I've done the same thing.
I remember when I first moved here. I moved here
sixteen years ago. Shelley Batanza took me to a Jason
(03:52):
Alden concert, who's a country artist. I'd never been to
a country concert, country music concert, and I remember thinking, like,
I don't think that.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
It's going to be for me. I had a great time.
The people were so nice, the music was so good,
and so.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I'm subject to that as well, putting up musical walls
about what I think experiences should be like.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
But we try to provide what the community wants.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
When we talk about programming, what selections or concerts we
want to put on, we try to listen to the community.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
It's not just what I wanted, what the orchestra wants,
but what.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Does the community need and how much musical content we
need to put out there as well. We put too much,
it's just too much and enough. Then we get we
get forgotten. So we're always Jamie Strather, our executive director, myself,
Jamie's lived here all of his life. He has a
very good sense of the pulse of the community. He
(04:46):
and I talk constantly about what does the community need
to have from the Symphony of Southeast Texas, And when
I came here sixteen years ago, there was no holiday concert,
and we immediately thought, we need to do a holiday concert,
so we we got that in the works.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
And and the January that's coming January.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
We have our education concerts for fifth graders the b I,
s D and surrounding school systems.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
These are just.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
All all part of the web of what it takes
to be an arts organization in the community.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Well and in the education component. I love because you're
exposing the symphony to, you know, people that perhaps their
parents hadn't been exposed to it, and you know they
can catch the bug if you will and say this
is really cool. And I know for me, you know
it is you and you do a great job.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
You're the whole symphony.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
But in terms of including the audience in what is happening,
there's not you know, you don't make broad assumptions and
and you and you help, there's there's audience participation because
of the education, and it makes it more fun. And
that was that was my biggest if you will surprise
and take away that I really enjoyed and because it
(06:05):
gives you a far greater appreciation well, and.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
I think about it when I go to see go
to a museum and I see works of art, I
have nothing, I have no understanding about it. But if
I go with someone who can point out various aspects
of what I'm watching, what I'm looking at, it makes
it much more impactful. When we take that same approach
with the symphony, I think all my colleagues on stage,
(06:31):
we all had those same experiences to play in the orchestra.
And we're not trying to make music majors out of
these young people who come to our concerts. We're just
trying to give them a sense of music appreciation. And
what I find is with adults, especially adults here in Beaumont,
is they'll say.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I remember going to the Julie Rogers Theater.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
When I was a kid to see the Nutcracker, or
to see to see a concert, or to see the
big chandelier. They have these wonderful remembrances, and that's what
we want to create rememberance. And then maybe they might
want to be on a board of an arts organization,
Maybe they might want to just usher, Maybe they might
just want to bring their family to see the Nutcracker
(07:11):
because they had that exposure when they were young people.
So you know, it takes a cross section of people
in the community who to support an orchestra. And if
you just attune it to one segment of the population,
then the rest of the rest of the community is
left out. That's not the way to go. I believe
(07:33):
in the complete web of support. I don't care how
much money you make. I don't care what color of
your skin is. If you want to come to the symphony,
we have something for you. And I don't care what
you wear. That's the last question. I get a lot
of times, what should I wear? Where is somebody that's comfortable.
Just wear something that you can be comfortable with, that
you can take in the music and not be don't
be self conscious. You want everyone to be part of
(07:55):
our sost experience here in Beaumont, Texas.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You know that up and I hadn't even thought about that,
but that is something some people and certainly.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
People going in black ki and you know, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Formal wear and having gone to many concerts and being
season ticket holders, you see people dressed.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Kind of as they live.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
I mean, you know, and there are there are people
in coat and ties, but there are people in in
jeans and you know, cowboy boots and are you know
whatever they're comfortable in like you said, and I don't
think there's an expectation because it is about the art,
It is about the music and UH, and it is
it's so cool.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
To have that present here. And then also the array
of shows. I mean, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
All what you what y'all present in the season and
I know you know, we don't have that much time left,
but kind of tell people about the concert series and
who they can you know, expect to hear from.
Speaker 5 (08:55):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And the remainder of this year, well.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
We've got there.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
How they spectacular that's coming up on eighth, February eighth,
we have an evening of love songs. We have the
music of George Gershwin. We have a wonderful singer who's
been going to be coming in for that. We have
Soul Full, our Pops Concert March fifteenth, R and B, Motown, Funk,
Disco and beyond. And then we'll close out the season
(09:18):
on April fifth with Old to Joy our Beethoven ninth Symphony.
And so to what you said, we have to have
versatile players. We have to have people who can do
lots of different styles. That's what we have with the SOST.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Well, I know you do. And y'all's website is s
o ST dot org. So it can't be any easier.
I mean that's only eight You only have to type
in eight you know, letters and a dot to get there,
and you can you can get tickets, you can find
out about the series. But you know, so also you know,
(09:54):
I've taken grandkids there and you know, and it's a
special treat for them. But you know, it's really worth
checking out. It's very reasonably priced and you're going to
have an incredible experience, and you know, supporting this, uh,
I just applaud It's it's not just about supporting the
(10:16):
people that come to the concert. It's about supporting our community,
educating the kids and uh and giving back.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
And y'all do a tremendous job with that.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
We appreciate you getting the worried out about our wonderful orchestra,
and we appreciate your support.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
I see you at so many of our concerts. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think that that rings a certain amount into the
community of support for the arts.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Well, we've got just about a minute left and I
want to remind people they can go to the website.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You don't have to buy season tickets. You can get you.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Can get tickets, single tickets for whichever event you want
to go to UH and and that's certainly where I
would advise people to start because you don't but there
you can get a lot of information. And the only
way the symphony happens is you know, one thing is
our proximity to Houston and having so many UH musicians
(11:09):
that are able to come over, but local musicians also participate.
But to be able to because it is quite a production,
UH being able to when when you go to these concerts,
I mean, there's a lot of people involved, and we.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Like to have our great guest artists from around the country,
from around the world, but we also like to feature
people in our community as well and and feature them
as solos like Jimmy Simmons, like the SYSC Chorus. We
have such great talent right here in Southeast Texas, so
we want people to come out support the orchestra. Sost
dot Orger eight nine two two two five seven. You
(11:44):
can give us a call and we can set you
up right.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Hey, Chelsea Tipton, thank you so much, and we will
talk again soon and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
You haven't merry Christmas as well? Thank you?
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Mayor all right, bye bye.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I and folks. Carol Fernandez
with Catholic Charities is back with us. And I always
love having Carol on the show because Catholic Charities has
a huge footprint and impact in Southeast Texas, really enhancing
(12:25):
people's lives.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
And Carol, thank you so much for being on the
show today.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 5 (12:31):
Sir.
Speaker 7 (12:32):
I'm always always happy to have this opportunity to be
on the show, so appreciate.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
It absolutely well. So tell people if you will. You've
got some gift giving ideas which I love. We talked
about a little bit before, but a little five thousand
foot view of Catholic Charities.
Speaker 6 (12:48):
Surely, surely, surely so about the gift giving idea.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
So this is something that I didn't learn about until
I came to Catholic Charities, and that is, you know,
for someone who may be on your gift list, it's
just very hard to shop for you don't know what
to get for them, or maybe it's someone that you
feel like, oh, well, they have everything, what more could
you get for them? For that person, why not consider
(13:11):
giving them a gift that is a donation to Catholic
charities in their honor. And so with that donation, we
would send a letter to that individual letting them know
that a donation or a gift has been made in
their honor, and we can say who gave the gift
or it could be anonymous if a donor would like that.
And so, you know, so why give a gift like
(13:33):
that to Catholic charities. Well, one thing is that unlike
the gift purchases and retail stores those Christmas gifts, your
donation to Catholic charities, we are five oh one C
three nonprofits, So that.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
Would be a tax deductible a gift.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
So you're still getting a gift to someone and you're
getting a tax deductible donation. So also you know your
gift is helping that gift donation is helping people in need.
You know, donors can be that that gift is going
to have a very wide reach. So last fiscal year,
our fiscal year ended in June thirtieth, our last one,
(14:09):
and so we had served at our hospitality Center, our
soup kitchen that's in Port Arthur. We served more than
thirty three thousand meals, Mayor out at the hospitality center.
And then Market to Hope, which you know, Hope stands
for help other People Eat. That's our grocery store and
food pantry. We served more than three thousand families there
(14:31):
and gave out more than a million pounds of food
through the market. So definitely these gift donations really have
a very wide reach. And you know, for anyone who
might be concerned Catholic charities, yes, we are Catholic with
the big sea, but we are Catholic with the little
letter C, and that we are universal and so no
(14:55):
one has to be of the Catholic.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
Faith to receive services and get help from care Atholic charities.
So definitely a wide reach. And then Mayor, as you said,
we have a pretty big footprint geographically, and that we
serve nine counties in this area, and I.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
Like to do them in alphabetical order so that I
hope I get them all. So it's Chambers, Jasper, Jefferson, Harden, Liberty, Newton, Orange,
Polk and Tyler counties that we serve, and so all
of our programs are available to low to moderate income
residents of those areas. You know, we have primarily worked
(15:34):
in Beaumont in Jefferson County in terms of physical presence.
So we have our central service facility on East tex
Freeway in Beaumont where we do our counseling services, Elijah's
Place Home Matters, immigration services. We have as I mentioned,
hospitality center, the Soup Kitchen on Golfway Drive in Port Arthur.
(15:55):
Market to Hope here in Beaumont is on the same
campus with our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church over on
Sarah Street.
Speaker 6 (16:02):
But we now, and I.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Didn't get to tell you this before we got started,
we actually have a new physical location, our Western Service
Facility that's in Winnie, Texas. And so from that location
we're also going to have Market to Hope, our food pantry,
offering that immigration services, counseling services.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
And hopefully more, but definitely those. It just gives us.
Speaker 7 (16:26):
It makes it easier for the clients and families that
need the help to get that help, for us to
physically be there on a regular basis. We are in
our other counties, but not every day, you know, And
so so having this physical presence there in Chambers County
is really going to go a long ways and being
able to help families there and also out there Mayor.
(16:50):
We have a new social enterprise venture that we started
back in July. So we acquired the Saint Vincent de
Paul thrift store that is on Highway one twenty four
in Winning and so this is also very new to us.
So it's our resale shop that we're calling the thrift Barn,
(17:11):
and so it's very very new. I can't share a
whole lot about it because we're learning it and getting
it going and in that transition phase right now. But
I hope that maybe later after the holidays, that you'll
invite us back at some point and we can give
more information about how people can support that effort.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Absolutely, and this is you know when people talk about
given where you live, this is this is our back door.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
This is I mean our backyard.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And when you know also what's so important is you know,
Catholic Charities is very broad based, very involved in a
lot of the challenges that poverty brings to people. And
in terms of when people are looking for help, Catholic
(17:59):
charity when they don't provide a service, they know who
to send people to and a lot of those services
also send people to Catholic charities because trying to avoid
redundancies and areas but meet the needs of the people
and UH and being creative in how you can effectively
do that, yes.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Sir, and so that is important, you know.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
We I just had the director of our counseling services
come to me yesterday to say that that some of
the schools are interested in working with Catholic Charities because
we have a counselor, a mental health counselor who is
bilingual in Spanish in English, and that is just a
(18:42):
significant need in the community that we don't have enough
counselors to help the children who need that service. And
so that will be a new partnership that we will
have coming soon to be able to work with the
schools to offer those services. Elijah's Play is another service,
the Grief Support program. We primarily work from our main
(19:05):
office here, but we realize that we can't reach all
the kids who need grief support just in our office
on the days that we're working. So Randy, the director
of the program, has been going into the schools one
to work with the staff in the schools. The teachers
and all of the administrators to help them understand children's
(19:28):
grief and how they can help facilitate them, refer them
to Elijah's places necessary, or in some cases, we're actually
doing some grief support sessions in the schools, so while
the kids are there, we're able to go in and
help them if they've had the loss of Sometimes it's
been in case maybe it's a classmate, it's someone very
(19:51):
close to them in the school, or it could just
be that it is a family member that they have
had the loss experience that death and is able to
go in and do sessions in the schools and just
do some great support there. So always new opportunities to
collaborate with other agencies. You know, we have been working
(20:12):
to rehouse some folks through what we call our Home
Matters program, and you know, for someone who's been homeless,
when they get back into housing, they need a lot
of stuff, and so we've been able to work with
other agencies that have furniture and housing supplies and different
things and get them set up and re established in
(20:35):
their homes. So always always great to be able to
work with our community partners in the area well.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Oftentimes as we're talking about here.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
It just reminds me that there's layers to every challenge
that exists, and it involves that, whether you know, when
it's dealing with people that have been unsheltered, homeless, whatever
term is used, getting preparing them and educating them on
how to be successful as that change, and not just
(21:06):
put people in an apartment or something and expect everything
to work out because they're dealing with things that they're
not used to dealing with. That's correct, and so you know,
there's an education component to this. There's always need for volunteers,
so financially and physically volunteering, and as you pointed out,
(21:27):
this is for everybody, so you don't have to be
Catholic to participate. You can be of other faiths to volunteer,
and there's just a process and you can you can learn.
Speaker 4 (21:37):
About all of that.
Speaker 7 (21:38):
Yes, So our website is c c s E. T
X for Catholic Churitiessoutheast Texas dot org. You can learn
about all of our programs there. You can also learn
about volunteering. You can donate online, so please please go
to our website learn more about our programs and find
out how you can get involved and be a part.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Merry Christmas, Nery Christmas.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I. And remember, folks, you
can always download the free iHeartRadio app, stream the show
live wherever you get out of your car, or check
out this is a podcast or any of the prior
shows as podcast on iHeart, Apple podcast, Android podcast and
(22:29):
Spotify and all those other platforms I have with me
Jack Seeley with Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Jack welcome
back to the show you've been on several times. Let's
tell people a little bit about what sleep and Heavenly
Peace is here locally, in the impact y'all are having,
and how long y'all been operating.
Speaker 8 (22:51):
Thank you, Roy. We always enjoy being on the show.
We've been at this five and a half years, and surprise,
we have delivered almost forty six hundred and fifty beds
here to youth three aged three to seventeen here in
(23:12):
Orange Jefferson in Hardin Counties. Currently we have forty five
requests for one hundred beds that we're going to try
to deliver before Christmas, so we need some help delivering.
Our next delivery day is on the fourteenth, and all
it takes is two or more people with a pickup
(23:36):
truck or a large suv and the willingness to work.
Go into people's homes with these disassembled beds, put them together,
put a brand new mattress on, dress up the bed
with all new bedclothes and the pillows so they're ready
to sleep.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
In when they leave.
Speaker 8 (23:57):
And many volunteers say this is the most fun part
of being involved with SHP because in many cases you
get to interact with the kids that are getting these
beds and they get so excited. In fact, they get
so excited sometimes they want to help you put the
bed together, which of course is fun, but it doubles
(24:19):
the length of time it takes to put a bed together.
But it's so exciting to see these kids. So we
need help getting another one hundred beds out before Christmas,
and we're available during the week to accommodate people that
have the time, be their retirees, shift workers, whatever. If
(24:41):
you could find two to three hours to devote to us,
give me a call and we'll get somebody lined up
for you to deliver to the majority of the deliveries
are here in Jefferson County.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Well, you know what, there are so many components to this,
and I know when you got started this is I
think now international organization base, but this is but the
one here locally serves the people here in this community,
and it's kids that don't have beds, and for some
it's pretty surprising that there are so many kids that
(25:18):
sleep on the floor or you know, sleep on couches,
and you know, so there's some betting here. It's meeting
those needs and it's hard standing up and then you
know from from from in terms of creating the beds
in your shop, that's one level of it. And sometimes
people like doing that because they do that on a
(25:39):
Saturday at a certain time. But the delivery is, like
you say, equally is important because people got to get
those beds.
Speaker 8 (25:49):
Well, you're right, Roy, that it is an international organization.
We're in every state in the United States and all
the provinces of Canada that border on the US. Actively,
all of those three hundred and fifty plus chapters in
twelve years of existence have built and delivered over a
(26:09):
quarter of a million beds. Two hundred and fifty thousand beds.
The goal by thirty thirty four is to have delivered
a million beds, and it's very doable. Here in our area.
The population for the area that we serve is something
(26:29):
around three hundred and thirty thousand people. They unscientific numbers,
but they seem to be holding true. Is that two
to three percent of the population are kids that don't
have a bed of their own. If you do the
math here in our area that we serve, that's somewhere
(26:50):
between sixty five hundred and ten thousand kids don't have
a bed of their own. And we serve, like I
said before, kids three to seven that are sleeping on
the floor, sleeping with a sibling or an adult, or
sleeping in a chair or on a couch. And it's
amazing how many kids fit into that category.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Well. And also with that, you know that it affects kids'.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Quality of life, you know, having a safe place to sleep,
knowing where you're sleep, and I know you've had lots
of stories of you know how it really enhances kids' lives.
And you know, kids need a good night sleeper, they're
going to be functioning well in school and all those
kind of things and sometimes their families just aren't able
(27:39):
to provide that.
Speaker 8 (27:41):
Yeah, very true. We are unique. Name that they came
up with is help stamp out bedlessness. The idea of
being that like you said, every kid needs a good
night's sleep, they do better in school and hopefully later
on they do better in life.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Right.
Speaker 8 (28:02):
It gives them some security that they may not have
at this point.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Well and as a community and through your leadership with this,
you know, it also sends a message to kids that
people care. You know, I mean they you know, when
you have people that don't know you that are bringing
you a bed because they care about you. And like
you said, everybody gets a new mattress, everybody gets a
new bedding, uh, and they get the beds are made
(28:29):
out of out of wood. They're not extremely fancy, but
they're gonna last a long time. They're well built, and
they can be bunked if needed for space. But it
is showing these uh, these children that people care for them,
and other things can come from that.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
Oh yeah, I have a little speech that if there's
kids present when we deliver the beds, and we always
try to do it when there's kids there, I'll say
kids Now you got under stand that people that you
don't know, you've never met, and probably never will get
to meet, found out that you needed the bed to
(29:08):
sleep in. So we raised two hundred and fifty dollars
any way that we could for each of these beds.
Then we bought the lumber, we made it into all
the pieces and parts we need for the beds. We
bought mattresses, people donated bedding, and we're giving them to you.
(29:31):
They're your beds. But promise me that when you no
longer need the bed, you give it to somebody that
does need a bed, pass it on. And then I
always at the end of that say and if your
mom calls me and tells me that you've been jumping
on the bed or that you haven't made it every morning,
(29:51):
we'll have to come get it. And raising the looks
we get out of both the parents and the adults,
the kids are still led, and of course the parents
are about to break off laughing.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Well, you know, I think the ministry is so important
and it is making a difference here in Southeast Texas,
and you can be a part of it too. They
need volunteers because this is a volunteer driven organization. And
if you think you need to be an engineer, because
I'm not particularly mechanical or handy, you don't need to be.
(30:27):
This is all the way from the building days to
the delivery days. It's very All you got to do
is do one thing after the other. It's not sophisticated.
You don't have to have unique tools and are a
skill set to be able to do that is it
is doable. So I just you know, I want to
encourage people to participate because it makes a big difference.
Speaker 8 (30:51):
I get asked quite often how long does it take
to put a bed together? And my answer is less
than ten minutes, But that's after you get it into
the room and we'll loan you the tools to put
it together, which is nothing more than a cordless drill.
Right yeah, more information on our chapter. Now, if they
(31:11):
go to SHP beds dot org, it takes you directly
to our chapter website and you can find out all
the information you really need and it tells you the
upcoming events and you can go ahead and register for
them online.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Right right, Well, I want to thank you for your
time and being on here and sleeping Heavenly Peace is
making a significant impact in Southeast Texas. So I'm grateful
and excited for that, and I appreciate your leadership in
this because this is something that you did just because
you heard about it, and you've made a commitment that
(31:52):
has made a big difference in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
So sleep and Heavenly Piece.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
You could google it, find out more information and begin
your journey to be involved there or if you know
a family and need so thank you so much for
coming on today.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Okay, thanks Roy, talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty KLV. I I have with me
Sharon Begnoe with the Giving Field right here in Beaumont, Texas.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 9 (32:23):
Sharing Hi, Roy, thank you so much for having me again.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Well, it's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
And if you would tell people, I mean, you've been
on before, and I think the Giving Field is very
well known here in Southeast Texas, but there's probably still
some people that are unfamiliar with it and so tell
people about it.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
So the Giving Field is located on Liberty Street in Beaumont.
It's a one acre organic garden and everything that we
harvest we send to area soup kitchens to feed the hungry.
So the three agencies that we send to are the
Hospitality Center in Port Arthur, some other place in Beaumont,
(33:02):
and Market to Hope, which is like a grocery store program.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
That's a Catholic Charities program.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
And all of these programs are for everybody. They serve
the community, the entire community. And you know, one acre garden.
It requires a lot of work, a lot of community
involvement for success, and.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
It also brings back for those that have lost the
art of gardening how to garden right.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
So we on average will harvest about seven thousand pounds
each year to send to those three agencies, and it does.
It takes a lot of hands and so many people
in the community come out and help us. And we also,
back to your point about the art of gardening.
Speaker 9 (33:58):
We also couple a really good educational component with what
we do.
Speaker 5 (34:04):
So we want to teach people how to garden organically,
we want.
Speaker 9 (34:10):
To teach people how to be more sustainable of the earth.
And at the same time, you're doing something great for
your community.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Well, and and that's exactly right.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
You're making a difference in the lives of others, but
you're also learning something. And you know, you I know,
when I was growing up, a lot of the grandparents
and sometimes even parents did gardens, but you see fewer
of them.
Speaker 4 (34:35):
And there really is an art to gardening, you know,
It's something that had been.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Taught from generation to generation and now it's got lost.
Speaker 4 (34:44):
A little bit.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
So, you know, if you want to have a garden
and be successful, there's really a lot you need to learn,
and that's by volunteering at the Giving Field. You can
also learn that. But y'all, y'all are going beyond that too,
because y'all have a fundraiser happening right now, that's right, So.
Speaker 5 (35:01):
We are gearing up to build a kitchen classroom out
at the Giving Field. So it's going to be another
extension for a way for us to feed the hungry.
So in this kitchen classroom, we are going to not
only educate people on how to cook a healthy.
Speaker 9 (35:19):
Meal, adults and kids.
Speaker 5 (35:22):
You know, a lot of kids come home to a
household where both the parents are working and the best
thing that the parents can do for their family is
usually convenience food, which I mean, that's what they can do.
So we feel like if we can teach kids some
basic cooking skills that they could take that into their
(35:43):
homes and help their families eat healthier. And also in
this kitchen classroom, these kids are going to help us
create like those reheat and eat meals that you see
at some of the grocery stores in town, so that
specifically Market to Hope can provide that for their clients.
That's a product that they do not have currently for
(36:05):
their clients in their program.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Well, and Market to Hope is is that's a subject
into itself.
Speaker 4 (36:15):
It's already and it's recreating itself.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
My understanding is they might be opening up another one
in another area, but it all it's it's really neat
and impressive and serves a great need. But this is
about you know, community collaboration, working together to make the
overall community better and also to show that you know,
the community matters and that people matter. So tell us
(36:40):
about this fundraiser that's going on.
Speaker 9 (36:43):
So we are selling bricks.
Speaker 5 (36:45):
We're going to have a patio outside of the kitchen
classroom and there are bricks that you can have engraved
on there, you know, in memory and of someone, or
in honor of someone, or maybe you just want your
family name on there. You know, to show your support
for the people in our community that need help. And
so the bricks are two hundred and fifty dollars. They're
(37:09):
a great Christmas gift and we will be having, like
I said, this patio outside of the kitchen classroom. The
money's going to help us raise the money to build
the kitchen classroom.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
Well in that education process with the kids in the
kitchen classrooms, just another component that you're adding. And y'all
have a great Facebook page where people can get a
lot of information as well.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
Yes, yeah, we sure do.
Speaker 5 (37:38):
So people can go to the Facebook page, they can
find the information about our brick program and many other things.
And you know the times that we're out there to volunteer,
which we're out there every Tuesday morning from seven thirty
to nine thirty, every Thursday afternoon from four to six,
and the second Saturday of every month from nine to in.
(38:00):
But we have groups that come in besides those times.
You just reach out to us and you can schedule
a time for maybe. You know, we have a lot
of homeschool groups that are you know, finding us and
doing things at the field.
Speaker 9 (38:14):
We have a lot of.
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Businesses that kind of use it as a team building
thing for their employees, and sometimes they want to do
something separate beyond the open volunteer times.
Speaker 9 (38:26):
They want to do something that's just exclusive to their group,
and we can accommodate that as well.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
Well.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
I appreciate all that you do. And you know, the
Giving Field is a five oh one C three, so
that's important. These are taxed, deductible donations and it you know,
you're given where you live.
Speaker 4 (38:46):
That's right here in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 9 (38:48):
Yeah, that's correct. So it takes many people to do
what we do.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
It takes uh, people's time, it takes people's treasure, it
takes people's creativity, you know.
Speaker 9 (39:00):
And we're really proud to say that.
Speaker 5 (39:04):
The people that come and help us at the Giving
Field come from many areas in Beaumont and Southeast Texas
and it's you know, it's just it's a great gathering
place as well.
Speaker 9 (39:15):
It's everybody really enjoys being out there.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Well, this is how long has the Giving Field been around? Now,
it's a long time, and so it is it stood
the test of time. And it's also I think, you know,
given some direction for some others in the community.
Speaker 9 (39:35):
Right. So we started it back in twenty twelve, so
we're twelve years old, and.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
We hope to be able to help other organizations create
a similar model to what we're doing, because we are
just servicing three agencies, and there's so many more agencies
and so many more people in our community that need
this help of eating healthy well.
Speaker 4 (40:02):
Sharon begno, thank you so much. The Giving Field.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
You can find them on Facebook at the Giving Field
on Liberty Street. It's super easy you can and there's
a link there to give or to get more information,
as well as the phone number for zero nine to
zero one eight seven zero two. Thank you so much, Sharon.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
Thank you, Roy talk to you soon. Okay, we are
back and we're wrapping up another.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
Roy West show here on News Talk five sixty klv
I folks, remind you all the time that we're on
the free iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
So if you missed any part of the show or
any of our prior shows and you want.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
To go back and watch them, you can just go
to iHeart, download the app, go to Apple podcast, Android podcast, Spotify.
We're on all those platforms. Today's show, we had music
director Chelsea Tipton of the Symphony of Southeast Tech they've
got shows coming up here in Folks, the Symphony makes
(41:05):
a huge impact here in Southeast Texas in the schools
of bringing and arts are all so important, so be
sure to check out Symphony of Southeast Texas online to
get your tickets, and they have a show coming up
right around the corner, and then many more in the spring.
Then I talked to Carol Fernandez with Catholic Charities. She's
(41:27):
the executive director over there, and she was talking about
how people can give gifts in the names of other
people this holiday season because sometimes there's people that are
hard to buy for and Catholic Charities need your money
and they serve seven counties, make a huge impact here
in Southeast Texas, and they serve people of all faiths.
Speaker 4 (41:50):
So check them out.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
And you can check out Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas
online for more information or to get and also finding
out about all the ministries they provide. Jack Seeley with
Sleeping Heavenly Peace, another great organization that delivers beds to
kids without beds they're in need.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
You can Google or find them on Facebook. Sleep a
Heavenly Peace.
Speaker 1 (42:12):
And then Sharon Begno with the Giving Field and they
have a fundraiser going on right now. So many great
organizations making a huge impact here in Southeast Texas. Until
we talk again, God bless you all.
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