Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
(00:20):
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome to the El Paso Public Forum. I am your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two guests from Bookie and Mommy's
Helping Hand homemade meals for the homeless. We have here
Scharie Coleman, CEO and founder, Shari. Thank you so much
for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And we have the boss Man himself, Bookie Coleman. Bookie,
thank you for being here with us today.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
You're Pat Jude.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So today we're going to talk about Bookie and Mommy's
Helping Hand, a nonprofit organization. Shari, I'm going to ask
you first, even though I know boss Man was right here,
he's more to manage. We'll get some questions to him too,
But what is this organization and what does this organization do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
So every Sunday and Wednesday, we go out into the
community and we feed the homeless. Like I said, every
Sunday and Wednesday. Sunday it's called this is Not your
Last Supper, and Wednesday is wasteless Wednesday. I start doing
it on Wednesdays because Thursday I used to clean on
my Fridgerdy trash man. It came on Friday. So we
haven't thought any food in the trash since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Oh my gosh. And I think it was around COVID,
because how long has this have you been doing this?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
In April, it's be four years.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Okay, So it was around COVID that you start. And
I think that's when I maybe saw you on the news,
and that my questions I finally get to ask you
because you do this by yourself. You don't have like
a whole team cooking at your house, right, And it's
every Sunday and Wednesday, My goodness, So how so how long?
How long does it take you to make these meals?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So most of in the beginning, I prep on Saturdays.
I prepped on Saturday night so I can cook everything
on Sunday. But luckily we have like our number one supporter,
but show barbecue. Sure, what do they call bookie show?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Show bus show? And they show barbecue? Is that like
a restaurant?
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Here?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's a food truck? Oh nice?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You have been a food truck if I'm not mistaken
the last three years in a row. Oh wow, Okay,
they just came in number two. It was second or
third this year for a barbecue.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Okay, so they they're your biggest supporters.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yep. So I'll say, like I used to say, like
they give me their scraps, but but I say, like,
they give us they scraps, but literally it could be
like two slabs of ribs, a whole big brisket, you know,
a macaroni and cheese, greens, corn bread, green beans. So
when he gives me, like like I said, all his scraps,
(02:55):
his leftovers off his food truck on Sunday, I take
it out on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh okay. And so sometimes you may not have to
make the meals. You kind of just reheat what they
give you and then. But I know that you do
make a lot of the meals on your own. So
with that, where do you get the supply? Like do
people donate the food to you? Or how do you
do that?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I mean you run off of donations. I go. I
mean I am a food bank junkie. I go to
different food banks around the community. Wow, Like normally every
Monday I go to the food bank like next to
the border.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, there's quite a few year ago.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
So like the big, big food bank. I go there
every Monday, stand in line. He hate going.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Oh, I don't blame him. Yeah, I mean it's a
really good thing you're doing.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
It's hot.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Tell me what you don't like about a bookie.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It's hot, you have the walk, you have to grab stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, okay, but now tell me why do you do this? Bookie?
When you go and you get book and I whant
to ask you, when you go and you give these
meals to these people, how do they react?
Speaker 4 (04:01):
They act like, oh my god, I finally have food
or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, And that brings me to the question, I'm gonna
ask you for sure, why did you start doing this?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
This nosy man right here that used to sit in
the back seat and he as a little little kid
like two, he could tell you how to get from
one end of zero Goosa to Montana. He didn't know streets,
but he knew like, okay, if you go down there,
the Walmart's down there.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And every day when we was coming around off of Zaragosa,
you always heee this man with a sign and he's
the only word he knew on the sign was food.
And he was like, why do you have food on
that sign? And I said, because maybe he's hungry he
needs some food, and well, why can't he go home?
And I'm like, well he doesn't have a home. Well
(04:50):
why doesn't he have a home? He had a And
this is at six years old, So I had to
break it down like to a kiddie version what homeless was, right,
So he asked like, well, can we bring him home?
I'm like, no, he's not a pet. Yeah, bring him home,
but we can bring them something to eat. And then
that's when we started off, which is one.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Or two plates for just that one man.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Uh huh yep. And then he will see like they're
gonna know the homeless person. They're gonna know the homeless person.
It's like being that's my car.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So, Bookie, when you saw that sign, I know it
was a few years ago, and your mom explained to
you what it meant. What was going through your head.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
What was going through my head was like, how sad
they don't have.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
A home and stuff, and you wanted to help him.
That is amazing. And so from there it just people,
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You want to bring like He's like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I mean And that goes to show a lot from
the way he was raised. He wants everyone to feel
is taken care of as well, taken care of as
he is. And now you know, so even though you're
standing in that line and it's hot and you gotta walk,
it's worth it, right, bookie. So from one to two
people seeing the signs, it grew into something into uh,
(06:04):
you know every Sunday and Wednesday, Like you're saying, so
about how many people do you feed on Sunday and Wednesday?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Who on Sunday we leave out nothing less than one
hundred plates? Like I didn't go out yesterday, and I
know they probably looking at me looking for me. So
we're gonna go out like right after this, Like, yeah,
I've been making plates since nine o'clock this morning.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
You have been making so how long does it take
you to make that plate for that many people?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, like I say, I'm taking leftovers from for show barbecue.
So it's just like a lot of warming up, warming up,
warming up, and then I have to make sure everybody
had the same amount because they would open it up
and be like, well he got a corn bread and
I did yeah, And I'm like, can you just take
that and get lost?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
You get what you getting, you don't get upset, right.
We learned that in school. And so when you have
to make your own meals, how long does that take you?
And what do you make?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I'm interested so on this pair Christmas instead of you know,
I found that it's very hard doing Thanksgiving and Christmas
to pass out food because they get overwhelmed. I had
maybe about two years ago, I had a dude ax me.
He said, they call me miss mama, Miss mama. Why
do you want to become feed us on Christmas and Thanksgiving?
(07:17):
And he said, what about the other three hundred and
sixty five days? I said, well, you just added on
two extra days to the year.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
What do you mean? Yeah, yeah, he said.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So when he told me that, and everybody is out
there to handle him, stuff is overwhelming. So I said,
you know what, I will come either the week before
Thanksgiving and then on Christmas. This year we did breakfast.
So I made over three hundred homemade biscuits. Never again.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Oh well, maybe just a little bit just for me.
I've never had homemade biscuits, and they had.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Like homemade biscuits. What gravy and eggs, grits?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You know it was sausage and hash browns.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Oh my gosh. And Bookie, do you ever help your
mom make some of this food?
Speaker 4 (08:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yeah, sometimes you like what do you mean? Sometimes sometimes
he stir I love him, place like some stuff and
then he does the all the silverware.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Oh nice. What is your favorite thing to make, like
food wise for everyone?
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Spaghetti, spaghetti, you know, to make spaghetti. Nice. So, if
you're just joining us right now, we have two people here,
the only two people that are part of this organization,
Bookie and Mommy's helping hand homemade meals for the homeless.
We have here Sharie Coleman, CEO and founder, as well
as Bookie Coleman boss man. So my next question to
(08:43):
Shari is where do you go? Like do you just
go to certain places or do you kind of travel
every Sunday and Wednesday and Wednesday?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
You know, I have my routes, like I know it's
four dudes up on what's that Zaragoza and Joe Battle, Okay,
like that with home depot area.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
And then I used to have a dude that was
on Leechervino and I think it's Trey Wood, but I
haven't seen him in a while, okay. And then I
used to have four people over here on the west side,
but I haven't seen him in a while.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
So normally I go to downtown between Myrtle and what
is that street? Murder and Brown okay and no Myrtle
and Noah.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So do you just like make the food on those
days in the morning and then you kind of travel
around al Paso? Well, I know that there's someone outside
the iHeart station that I think there's stuff is out
there right now. So in case you want to never
come by here, I've seen them out here quite a bit.
And so you know, how can people support you? Can
people donate money to you, food to you? What do
(09:49):
you need from the al Paso community to keep this going, bookie?
What do you have suggestions go for it?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Well? Can I tell you something? Yes, sir, there's just
one time. This one time we feed a thousand plates
to the homeless, a thousand plates and the migrants.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh my goodness, tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
That was March tenth, twenty twenty four. He had made
the Marin Luther King Martin Luther King Junior Humanitaria Youth
Award Winner.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Congratulations, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
His go was to feed a thousand people in one day.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
And one day? What did you feed them? What kind
of food?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Spaghetti?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
You made it? Really? And you fed one thousand people?
That's awesome, very well deserved award. Congratulations, And so you
know how how I'm gonna ask you, Bookie, First, how
do you think people can support you and your mom
in continuing to do this?
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Like help us donate to us?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
What kind of donations like food money?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Both we need money to like get all like the
supplies and stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yes and I.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Guess yeah okay, and the gas.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
And also we also need a new food truck.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yes, we was trying to get a van.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
So what are you delivering right now?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Is it in my car? And I never put my
back seats up. I have a little Cadillac s Rex,
and my back seats are always down. And because normally
it's just me and him in a car. But like right,
now we got food. Normally I have like food, clothes, shoes, blankets,
sleeping bags, hygiene packages if we go on to the
(11:27):
migrants camp. He made one hundred just little baggies for
the migrant kids, fifty for the girls, fifty for the boys.
We had just went to Sabers and got a whole
bunch of little small toys and then we put like juice,
capri sons and snacks and chips. What else are you
(11:50):
happen here? Fruit snacks and you know, just little cereal bars.
And he had dropped them off in the summertime to
the migrants.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, the little toys. So you know, you have this
in your vehicle, so I'm assuming how do you carry
it around? Like a little like the lunchboxes, insulated ones,
Like do you need it?
Speaker 3 (12:13):
I have the I got them off Amazon, but I
don't had it for three years now and they are
wearing tears, so I gotta buy some more.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah. So I'm trying to give people ideas of like
what they can do, because it's not just a matter
of food and money for gas and for the food,
but it's you know, plates, napkins, stuff to carry around.
If someone has a food truck that they're willing to
donate to you or maybe fix one up for you
at home. I'm assuming there's a lot of storage that
you're gonna need, maybe like an extra fridge.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I mean we have well, actually one of our dridages
went out in Ana, so now down to one fridge.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Okay, garage.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
In the one inside the house. But I mean we
have like food galore, you know, stuff go lore. We
just move. We purchased the house, so I literally have
one room. I call that homeless headquarters.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's what everything is it from hand sanitizers to sex
to you know, cute tips. It's just those small things.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah, it's not just food, Bookie, What other stuff do
you have do you help people with other than food?
Let's see, like clothes. Do you take donations of clothes?
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Like always in the winter we pass out like clothes
and stuff the blankets, blankets and sleeping bags.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Sleeping bags, yeah, you know, and if anyone wants to
get a hold of them on Instagram, Bookie and Mommy's
helping hand that's b O O K I E and
Mommy's m O M M y s helping hand. Sure
is there another way? That they can get a hold
of you in case they want to donate to you
(13:50):
or have questions for you.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
My phone number is on Instagram and you also have
a Facebook page.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
And it's the same thing Booky and Mommy's Helping Hand. Okay, perfect.
So that's it. That's so much easier for people on air,
Instagram and Facebook, Booky b o O ki E and
Mommy's Helping Hand, and of course on Power one oh
two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k Hay Country on our Instagram and Facebook.
There's gonna be all this information, names, what we talked about,
(14:19):
and contact for them in case you would like to
help them again food truck they have been doing this
on their own for going on four years. And any
way that you can help help them money, food donations,
clothing donations, a food truck, anything, contact them let them know.
Book I'm gonna ask you first, is there anything else
(14:40):
that you would like to tell the listening audience? Anything
you want to tell them?
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Stay blessed, Oh, just stay bless sure.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
He said it all.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I love you guys, thank you so much for being
here with me today. Welcome to the Alpaso Public Forum.
I am your host, Amberbanda, and today we're going to
be talking about free tax help for the twenty twenty
five tax season. I have here with me Ruby Alvarez,
(15:16):
Vice President of GECU Community Development. Ruby, thank you for
being here with me. Thank you for having me. Of course,
so GECU has partnered with the Coalition for Family Economic
Progress for free tax prep for the twenty twenty five
tax season via the VIDA program Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.
(15:38):
So Ruby, real quick, I just want to say for
the VIDA Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, these people volunteered, they
were trained for IRS certification, and these are the people
that are going to be providing the free tax prep help.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Yes, you know what. GSU continues to lead this program.
Over ten years we've been doing this and so again
we're here to serve our community and we have many
volunteers a year after year give their time and our
volunteers get trained every year. So the laws change obviously,
right and so they get trained and certified by IRS.
(16:16):
And we have many volunteers throughout our community that go
through this process and so we have many sites in
our community that are here ready to serve you for
this free service.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Awesome. Yeah, because capsprep can be expensive. I've been lucky
enough where my husband does it, or you know, when
I was younger, my mom did it. I I'm so
not familiar with taxes, so if I didn't have anyone
to do it, I would definitely be taking advantage of
this program. So this began January twenty seventh. So right
now people can actually apply for this VITA program. How
(16:49):
long will this program continue? Like what's the deadline for
people to apply for these services?
Speaker 5 (16:53):
Yeah, so we start on January twenty seventh. And again
at our sites, you can walk in. You don't have
to do anything but just walk in and bring your
original ID, original Social Security card, all of the documents
that pertain to your tax return and that's it. You
walk in in a's on a walking basis. And so
(17:14):
our sites are open now through April fifteenth and or
if this is our tax season, and so we have
many hours of operation, days of operation, and you can
find all the details on our website which is Free
Taxes opass so dot org.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Perfect. And so how do they qualify? Because I know
that there's a there's a qualifying process. So what type
of person would qualify for these services?
Speaker 5 (17:42):
Yes, the vier program is designed and it's it's for
our low to moderate income families. So as long as
you made under less than eighty five thousand dollars for
twenty twenty four and so for the taxes that you're filing,
if it was under that amount, you qualify for this
free tax preparation. And also it is for our senior
(18:04):
citizens and or if you don't speak English and you
need that assistance because a lot of times you're not
able to read those documents and so navigate the system
online and so we're here to help you. And so
the program is designed for you. And if you have
any other questions, our volunteers are out there ready to
(18:26):
answer your questions. If you bring all your documents and
you have that original ID and that original social we're
ready to submit for you.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Good and you do. You have many locations, So say
you know, I think I qualify for these services and
I want to go to a location. I can find
one of these locations at Free Taxes Alpasso dot org.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Correct, So yes, visit our website and once you see
one of the locations and you say, you know what,
I can go to this location because they're open five
to seven. And if near me or near to my work,
or I'm on my drive to work, you just come
to our location. If you have everything that you need,
our volunteers will look at your information register, you sign
(19:09):
you in, give you the forms that you need to
fill out, and our tax preparers are there ready to
help you. They complete your tax preparation form and they
submit electronically for you. And that is it. So it
gets done that day. It submits electronically. There are many
taxpayers that prefer the paper return which gets mailed. I
(19:30):
mean we do that for you as well, but ninety
eight percent of our taxpayers do select the electronic return,
which we recommend, and that is it. If you have
everything you need, it gets submitted. And the great thing
about all this is that it is free.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
And about how long does that process take when you
walk into a location.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It depends on the date. And again, February is a
very busy month for us, so it may be a
little bit busy. Don't get discouraged. You do see a line,
don't get discouraged. We have improved our process tremendously. I
can tell you that our team is doing an amazing
job and they have improved every single year we look
(20:12):
back at how we can improve that and so it
could take an hour, it could take an hour and
a half. But it just depends on how busy it is.
So don't get discouraged, be a little bit patient, and
our team is ready to help you. Again, you can
ask us and you can say, you know what, I
can come back on another day. You can look at
other options, but again we're here through April fifteen. I
(20:34):
really don't recommend you wait until April fifteen.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
That is one of our busiest days. Very last minute.
So yeah, yeah, and I wait in line longer for
a beer at a festival, or wait in line for contact.
It's they can wait in line for an hour, you know,
for free tax prep services.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Important, And you're getting actual help from volunteers that are
certified through the IRS. And just to clarify, because I
myself was the bit confused. These locations that they're going
to are they GECU buildings, because you know, someone might
just be like, oh, there's a GCU down the street,
let me go because there's one there.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
No so out of our over twenty locations, only two
of them are GECU. So the great thing about this
is that it's a collaboration with our partners. We have
many high schools that are participating, so you will see
many high schools listed. The great thing about this is
that we have our high school students getting certified, we
have college students getting certified, and so we have universities
(21:33):
and so you know, don't get discouraged by that either.
They're very very bright kids that are getting certified. And
every single return gets reviewed by a second person and
so to make sure that it gets done correctly. So
we have a great process. It gets verified. Everyone is
certified by IRS, and so we have many sites near you.
(21:56):
So you will see high schools listed, and so we'll
have you know, we're part of the high school you're
going to go to. And again, if you have any questions,
you know everything is on the website, what documents you
need to bring, hours of operation. Again, I wanted to
also mention to you Amber that you don't have to
be a GECU member to qualify. So a lot of
(22:18):
people think, oh my gosh, it's a GCU program. No,
you don't have to be a GECU member. You can
come to any of our locations. We welcome you. We're
excited to also serve south of New Mexico. So we
have two sites out there, and so if you live
out in New Mexico, we do have sites to serve
you out there. So many sites to serve you with
(22:40):
a free tax preparation assistance.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, I mean, and don't sleep on those high school students.
I used to be a sub and I subbed a
lot at high school and some of those classes, I
was like, this is math, So you know, it's actually
that prime age, that brain that can catch all those numbers.
And you know, and with the training from IRS, they're set.
Like you said, it gets rechecked, you know. And if
(23:04):
you're just tuning in right now, I have Ruby Alvarez,
vice President of GECU Community Development. GECU has partnered with
the Coalition for Family Economic Progress for free tax prep
for the twenty twenty five tax season via the VIDA
program Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Many locations to serve you.
(23:26):
Go to Free Taxes alpasso dot org to find the
nearest location. Now, Ruby, how does this service? Obviously it
helps people because they don't have to pay the fee
to get their taxes done by a professional or you know,
their tea over there saying they can get them this
then that amount of money, and you know, and they
end up getting in trouble other than getting that free
(23:48):
certified tax preparation help. How does that also you know,
directly or indirectly help the community.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
It really definitely does. You know. At gs T you
we want to help our unity and elevate our community,
not just with free tax preparation with financial education. We
want to make sure we educate you to save that
money for the future. You know, last year we were
able to save our community over three point three million
dollars in tax preparation fees that our members are our
(24:18):
community is able to put back in their savings account
or save for the future. You know, you never know
when you need to save for that water heater or
that emergency that may come up in the summer, and
so we highly encourage our community put that money away.
You know, you never know what can happen, and so
we encourage our community to save put that money away
(24:42):
for Christmas or for other necessities and may come up
that later on in the summer or later on in
the year. So that's something that we really focusing on,
is helping our community save for the future and put
that money away that you would have spent on those
tax preparation fees.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Definitely, and this is your thirteenth season, so it's not
like this is a new program that you're kind of
testing the waters. This has been, you know, tried and
proven and it's going to help people. And again, tax
prep can be very daunting. It doesn't have to be,
you know, and it doesn't have to cost you anything. Again,
go to Free Taxes Lpasso dot org. GCU is there
to help you. Ruby. Is there anything else that you
(25:21):
would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
No, I just want to tell you that we're here again.
Like you mentioned, we've been doing this for many years.
This is a program that we really believe in. We
could not do this without our partners, our volunteers, and
we're here to serve our community and we're very proud
of what we're doing. So again, visit our website, our
Free Taxes Lpasso dot org. We're here to help you
(25:44):
throughout the season through April fifteenth. Don't wait until the
last day, but we're here to help you and visit
our website for any questions that you have.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
There's going to be probably less of a line if
you do it now, or you know, at least before
you know. Most people wait to the last minute, so
don't do it last minute. And again, if you need
any of this information on our Instagram and Facebook for
Power one o two point one Sunday ninety nine point
nine and ninety six point three k Hey Country, the
information will be there. And Ruby, I just want to
(26:15):
say thank you for being here with me today. Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to EPFUM at iHeartMedia dot com
or call us at nine one five three five one
five four zero zero. Tune in again next week for
(26:39):
another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding program
was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
The al Paso Public Forum airs on local iHeartRadio stations
every Sunday morning from six to six thirty am on
Power one oh two point one Sunday ninety nine point
nine and ninety six point three k Hey Country and
from seven to seven thirty am on News Radio six
ninety AM and Fox Sports thirteen eighty am. Never miss
(27:10):
a show. You can listen to episodes after they've aired
on Spreaker. If you would like to listen to an episode,
go on Facebook and find me Amber Banda. It will
be a pinnpost at the top. Click on the Speaker
account and you will be able to listen to all
past episodes. If you don't have a radio, no problem.
You can use the free iHeart app. Download the free
(27:33):
app and choose any one of our local iHeart stations
Power one oh two point one, ninety six point three,
k Hey Country, Sunday ninety nine point nine, News Radio
six ninety am or Fox Sports thirteen eighty am. Find
those in the free iHeart app and you can listen
Sunday mornings to the I'll Passo Public Forum and remember
(27:56):
on our Instagram and Facebook. For Power one oh two
point one one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k Hey FM, you can find pictures, flyers,
information about the interviews. A few days before the interview
comes out, as well as a link to our speaker
podcast and contact information for these organizations. If there is
(28:20):
an organization that you think should be featured on this show,
you can email me at Amberbanda at iHeartMedia dot com.
And again, thank you al Passo for listening and for
being a part of a better change for our community.
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
(00:20):
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome to the El Paso Public Forum. I am your host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two guests from Bookie and Mommy's
Helping Hand homemade meals for the homeless. We have here
Scharie Coleman, CEO and founder, Shari. Thank you so much
for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And we have the boss Man himself, Bookie Coleman. Bookie,
thank you for being here with us today.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
You're Pat Jude.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
So today we're going to talk about Bookie and Mommy's
Helping Hand, a nonprofit organization. Shari, I'm going to ask
you first, even though I know boss Man was right here,
he's more to manage. We'll get some questions to him too,
But what is this organization and what does this organization do.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
So every Sunday and Wednesday, we go out into the
community and we feed the homeless. Like I said, every
Sunday and Wednesday. Sunday it's called this is Not your
Last Supper, and Wednesday is wasteless Wednesday. I start doing
it on Wednesdays because Thursday I used to clean on
my Fridgerdy trash man. It came on Friday. So we
haven't thought any food in the trash since twenty twenty one.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Oh my gosh. And I think it was around COVID,
because how long has this have you been doing this?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
In April, it's be four years.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Okay, So it was around COVID that you start. And
I think that's when I maybe saw you on the news,
and that my questions I finally get to ask you
because you do this by yourself. You don't have like
a whole team cooking at your house, right, And it's
every Sunday and Wednesday, My goodness, So how so how long?
How long does it take you to make these meals?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So most of in the beginning, I prep on Saturdays.
I prepped on Saturday night so I can cook everything
on Sunday. But luckily we have like our number one supporter,
but show barbecue. Sure, what do they call bookie show?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Show bus show? And they show barbecue? Is that like
a restaurant?
Speaker 4 (02:17):
Here?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's a food truck? Oh nice?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You have been a food truck if I'm not mistaken
the last three years in a row. Oh wow, Okay,
they just came in number two. It was second or
third this year for a barbecue.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Okay, so they they're your biggest supporters.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yep. So I'll say, like I used to say, like
they give me their scraps, but but I say, like,
they give us they scraps, but literally it could be
like two slabs of ribs, a whole big brisket, you know,
a macaroni and cheese, greens, corn bread, green beans. So
when he gives me, like like I said, all his scraps,
(02:55):
his leftovers off his food truck on Sunday, I take
it out on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh okay. And so sometimes you may not have to
make the meals. You kind of just reheat what they
give you and then. But I know that you do
make a lot of the meals on your own. So
with that, where do you get the supply? Like do
people donate the food to you? Or how do you
do that?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I mean you run off of donations. I go. I
mean I am a food bank junkie. I go to
different food banks around the community. Wow, Like normally every
Monday I go to the food bank like next to
the border.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, there's quite a few year ago.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
So like the big, big food bank. I go there
every Monday, stand in line. He hate going.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Oh, I don't blame him. Yeah, I mean it's a
really good thing you're doing.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
It's hot.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Tell me what you don't like about a bookie.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
It's hot, you have the walk, you have to grab stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, okay, but now tell me why do you do this? Bookie?
When you go and you get book and I whant
to ask you, when you go and you give these
meals to these people, how do they react?
Speaker 4 (04:01):
They act like, oh my god, I finally have food
or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, And that brings me to the question, I'm gonna
ask you for sure, why did you start doing this?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
This nosy man right here that used to sit in
the back seat and he as a little little kid
like two, he could tell you how to get from
one end of zero Goosa to Montana. He didn't know streets,
but he knew like, okay, if you go down there,
the Walmart's down there.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
And every day when we was coming around off of Zaragosa,
you always heee this man with a sign and he's
the only word he knew on the sign was food.
And he was like, why do you have food on
that sign? And I said, because maybe he's hungry he
needs some food, and well, why can't he go home?
And I'm like, well he doesn't have a home. Well
(04:50):
why doesn't he have a home? He had a And
this is at six years old, So I had to
break it down like to a kiddie version what homeless was, right,
So he asked like, well, can we bring him home?
I'm like, no, he's not a pet. Yeah, bring him home,
but we can bring them something to eat. And then
that's when we started off, which is one.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Or two plates for just that one man.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Uh huh yep. And then he will see like they're
gonna know the homeless person. They're gonna know the homeless person.
It's like being that's my car.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So, Bookie, when you saw that sign, I know it
was a few years ago, and your mom explained to
you what it meant. What was going through your head.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
What was going through my head was like, how sad
they don't have.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
A home and stuff, and you wanted to help him.
That is amazing. And so from there it just people,
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You want to bring like He's like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I mean And that goes to show a lot from
the way he was raised. He wants everyone to feel
is taken care of as well, taken care of as
he is. And now you know, so even though you're
standing in that line and it's hot and you gotta walk,
it's worth it, right, bookie. So from one to two
people seeing the signs, it grew into something into uh,
(06:04):
you know every Sunday and Wednesday, Like you're saying, so
about how many people do you feed on Sunday and Wednesday?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Who on Sunday we leave out nothing less than one
hundred plates? Like I didn't go out yesterday, and I
know they probably looking at me looking for me. So
we're gonna go out like right after this, Like, yeah,
I've been making plates since nine o'clock this morning.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
You have been making so how long does it take
you to make that plate for that many people?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, like I say, I'm taking leftovers from for show barbecue.
So it's just like a lot of warming up, warming up,
warming up, and then I have to make sure everybody
had the same amount because they would open it up
and be like, well he got a corn bread and
I did yeah, And I'm like, can you just take
that and get lost?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
You get what you getting, you don't get upset, right.
We learned that in school. And so when you have
to make your own meals, how long does that take you?
And what do you make?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I'm interested so on this pair Christmas instead of you know,
I found that it's very hard doing Thanksgiving and Christmas
to pass out food because they get overwhelmed. I had
maybe about two years ago, I had a dude ax me.
He said, they call me miss mama, Miss mama. Why
do you want to become feed us on Christmas and Thanksgiving?
(07:17):
And he said, what about the other three hundred and
sixty five days? I said, well, you just added on
two extra days to the year.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
What do you mean? Yeah, yeah, he said.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
So when he told me that, and everybody is out
there to handle him, stuff is overwhelming. So I said,
you know what, I will come either the week before
Thanksgiving and then on Christmas. This year we did breakfast.
So I made over three hundred homemade biscuits. Never again.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Oh well, maybe just a little bit just for me.
I've never had homemade biscuits, and they had.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Like homemade biscuits. What gravy and eggs, grits?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
You know it was sausage and hash browns.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Oh my gosh. And Bookie, do you ever help your
mom make some of this food?
Speaker 4 (08:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yeah, sometimes you like what do you mean? Sometimes sometimes
he stir I love him, place like some stuff and
then he does the all the silverware.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Oh nice. What is your favorite thing to make, like
food wise for everyone?
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Spaghetti, spaghetti, you know, to make spaghetti. Nice. So, if
you're just joining us right now, we have two people here,
the only two people that are part of this organization,
Bookie and Mommy's helping hand homemade meals for the homeless.
We have here Sharie Coleman, CEO and founder, as well
as Bookie Coleman boss man. So my next question to
(08:43):
Shari is where do you go? Like do you just
go to certain places or do you kind of travel
every Sunday and Wednesday and Wednesday?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
You know, I have my routes, like I know it's
four dudes up on what's that Zaragoza and Joe Battle, Okay,
like that with home depot area.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
And then I used to have a dude that was
on Leechervino and I think it's Trey Wood, but I
haven't seen him in a while, okay. And then I
used to have four people over here on the west side,
but I haven't seen him in a while.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
So normally I go to downtown between Myrtle and what
is that street? Murder and Brown okay and no Myrtle
and Noah.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So do you just like make the food on those
days in the morning and then you kind of travel
around al Paso? Well, I know that there's someone outside
the iHeart station that I think there's stuff is out
there right now. So in case you want to never
come by here, I've seen them out here quite a bit.
And so you know, how can people support you? Can
people donate money to you, food to you? What do
(09:49):
you need from the al Paso community to keep this going, bookie?
What do you have suggestions go for it?
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Well? Can I tell you something? Yes, sir, there's just
one time. This one time we feed a thousand plates
to the homeless, a thousand plates and the migrants.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Oh my goodness, tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
That was March tenth, twenty twenty four. He had made
the Marin Luther King Martin Luther King Junior Humanitaria Youth
Award Winner.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Congratulations, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
His go was to feed a thousand people in one day.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
And one day? What did you feed them? What kind
of food?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Spaghetti?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
You made it? Really? And you fed one thousand people?
That's awesome, very well deserved award. Congratulations, And so you
know how how I'm gonna ask you, Bookie, First, how
do you think people can support you and your mom
in continuing to do this?
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Like help us donate to us?
Speaker 2 (10:44):
What kind of donations like food money?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Both we need money to like get all like the
supplies and stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yes and I.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Guess yeah okay, and the gas.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
And also we also need a new food truck.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yes, we was trying to get a van.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
So what are you delivering right now?
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Is it in my car? And I never put my
back seats up. I have a little Cadillac s Rex,
and my back seats are always down. And because normally
it's just me and him in a car. But like right,
now we got food. Normally I have like food, clothes, shoes, blankets,
sleeping bags, hygiene packages if we go on to the
(11:27):
migrants camp. He made one hundred just little baggies for
the migrant kids, fifty for the girls, fifty for the boys.
We had just went to Sabers and got a whole
bunch of little small toys and then we put like juice,
capri sons and snacks and chips. What else are you
(11:50):
happen here? Fruit snacks and you know, just little cereal bars.
And he had dropped them off in the summertime to
the migrants.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, the little toys. So you know, you have this
in your vehicle, so I'm assuming how do you carry
it around? Like a little like the lunchboxes, insulated ones,
Like do you need it?
Speaker 3 (12:13):
I have the I got them off Amazon, but I
don't had it for three years now and they are
wearing tears, so I gotta buy some more.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah. So I'm trying to give people ideas of like
what they can do, because it's not just a matter
of food and money for gas and for the food,
but it's you know, plates, napkins, stuff to carry around.
If someone has a food truck that they're willing to
donate to you or maybe fix one up for you
at home. I'm assuming there's a lot of storage that
you're gonna need, maybe like an extra fridge.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I mean we have well, actually one of our dridages
went out in Ana, so now down to one fridge.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Okay, garage.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
In the one inside the house. But I mean we
have like food galore, you know, stuff go lore. We
just move. We purchased the house, so I literally have
one room. I call that homeless headquarters.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's what everything is it from hand sanitizers to sex
to you know, cute tips. It's just those small things.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah, it's not just food, Bookie, What other stuff do
you have do you help people with other than food?
Let's see, like clothes. Do you take donations of clothes?
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Like always in the winter we pass out like clothes
and stuff the blankets, blankets and sleeping bags.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Sleeping bags, yeah, you know, and if anyone wants to
get a hold of them on Instagram, Bookie and Mommy's
helping hand that's b O O K I E and
Mommy's m O M M y s helping hand. Sure
is there another way? That they can get a hold
of you in case they want to donate to you
(13:50):
or have questions for you.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
My phone number is on Instagram and you also have
a Facebook page.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
And it's the same thing Booky and Mommy's Helping Hand. Okay, perfect.
So that's it. That's so much easier for people on air,
Instagram and Facebook, Booky b o O ki E and
Mommy's Helping Hand, and of course on Power one oh
two point one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k Hay Country on our Instagram and Facebook.
There's gonna be all this information, names, what we talked about,
(14:19):
and contact for them in case you would like to
help them again food truck they have been doing this
on their own for going on four years. And any
way that you can help help them money, food donations,
clothing donations, a food truck, anything, contact them let them know.
Book I'm gonna ask you first, is there anything else
(14:40):
that you would like to tell the listening audience? Anything
you want to tell them?
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Stay blessed, Oh, just stay bless sure.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
He said it all.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I love you guys, thank you so much for being
here with me today. Welcome to the Alpaso Public Forum.
I am your host, Amberbanda, and today we're going to
be talking about free tax help for the twenty twenty
five tax season. I have here with me Ruby Alvarez,
(15:16):
Vice President of GECU Community Development. Ruby, thank you for
being here with me. Thank you for having me. Of course,
so GECU has partnered with the Coalition for Family Economic
Progress for free tax prep for the twenty twenty five
tax season via the VIDA program Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.
(15:38):
So Ruby, real quick, I just want to say for
the VIDA Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, these people volunteered, they
were trained for IRS certification, and these are the people
that are going to be providing the free tax prep help.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Yes, you know what. GSU continues to lead this program.
Over ten years we've been doing this and so again
we're here to serve our community and we have many
volunteers a year after year give their time and our
volunteers get trained every year. So the laws change obviously,
right and so they get trained and certified by IRS.
(16:16):
And we have many volunteers throughout our community that go
through this process and so we have many sites in
our community that are here ready to serve you for
this free service.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Awesome. Yeah, because capsprep can be expensive. I've been lucky
enough where my husband does it, or you know, when
I was younger, my mom did it. I I'm so
not familiar with taxes, so if I didn't have anyone
to do it, I would definitely be taking advantage of
this program. So this began January twenty seventh. So right
now people can actually apply for this VITA program. How
(16:49):
long will this program continue? Like what's the deadline for
people to apply for these services?
Speaker 5 (16:53):
Yeah, so we start on January twenty seventh. And again
at our sites, you can walk in. You don't have
to do anything but just walk in and bring your
original ID, original Social Security card, all of the documents
that pertain to your tax return and that's it. You
walk in in a's on a walking basis. And so
(17:14):
our sites are open now through April fifteenth and or
if this is our tax season, and so we have
many hours of operation, days of operation, and you can
find all the details on our website which is Free
Taxes opass so dot org.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Perfect. And so how do they qualify? Because I know
that there's a there's a qualifying process. So what type
of person would qualify for these services?
Speaker 5 (17:42):
Yes, the vier program is designed and it's it's for
our low to moderate income families. So as long as
you made under less than eighty five thousand dollars for
twenty twenty four and so for the taxes that you're filing,
if it was under that amount, you qualify for this
free tax preparation. And also it is for our senior
(18:04):
citizens and or if you don't speak English and you
need that assistance because a lot of times you're not
able to read those documents and so navigate the system
online and so we're here to help you. And so
the program is designed for you. And if you have
any other questions, our volunteers are out there ready to
(18:26):
answer your questions. If you bring all your documents and
you have that original ID and that original social we're
ready to submit for you.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Good and you do. You have many locations, So say
you know, I think I qualify for these services and
I want to go to a location. I can find
one of these locations at Free Taxes Alpasso dot org.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Correct, So yes, visit our website and once you see
one of the locations and you say, you know what,
I can go to this location because they're open five
to seven. And if near me or near to my work,
or I'm on my drive to work, you just come
to our location. If you have everything that you need,
our volunteers will look at your information register, you sign
(19:09):
you in, give you the forms that you need to
fill out, and our tax preparers are there ready to
help you. They complete your tax preparation form and they
submit electronically for you. And that is it. So it
gets done that day. It submits electronically. There are many
taxpayers that prefer the paper return which gets mailed. I
(19:30):
mean we do that for you as well, but ninety
eight percent of our taxpayers do select the electronic return,
which we recommend, and that is it. If you have
everything you need, it gets submitted. And the great thing
about all this is that it is free.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
And about how long does that process take when you
walk into a location.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It depends on the date. And again, February is a
very busy month for us, so it may be a
little bit busy. Don't get discouraged. You do see a line,
don't get discouraged. We have improved our process tremendously. I
can tell you that our team is doing an amazing
job and they have improved every single year we look
(20:12):
back at how we can improve that and so it
could take an hour, it could take an hour and
a half. But it just depends on how busy it is.
So don't get discouraged, be a little bit patient, and
our team is ready to help you. Again, you can
ask us and you can say, you know what, I
can come back on another day. You can look at
other options, but again we're here through April fifteen. I
(20:34):
really don't recommend you wait until April fifteen.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
That is one of our busiest days. Very last minute.
So yeah, yeah, and I wait in line longer for
a beer at a festival, or wait in line for contact.
It's they can wait in line for an hour, you know,
for free tax prep services.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Important, And you're getting actual help from volunteers that are
certified through the IRS. And just to clarify, because I
myself was the bit confused. These locations that they're going
to are they GECU buildings, because you know, someone might
just be like, oh, there's a GCU down the street,
let me go because there's one there.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
No so out of our over twenty locations, only two
of them are GECU. So the great thing about this
is that it's a collaboration with our partners. We have
many high schools that are participating, so you will see
many high schools listed. The great thing about this is
that we have our high school students getting certified, we
have college students getting certified, and so we have universities
(21:33):
and so you know, don't get discouraged by that either.
They're very very bright kids that are getting certified. And
every single return gets reviewed by a second person and
so to make sure that it gets done correctly. So
we have a great process. It gets verified. Everyone is
certified by IRS, and so we have many sites near you.
(21:56):
So you will see high schools listed, and so we'll
have you know, we're part of the high school you're
going to go to. And again, if you have any questions,
you know everything is on the website, what documents you
need to bring, hours of operation. Again, I wanted to
also mention to you Amber that you don't have to
be a GECU member to qualify. So a lot of
(22:18):
people think, oh my gosh, it's a GCU program. No,
you don't have to be a GECU member. You can
come to any of our locations. We welcome you. We're
excited to also serve south of New Mexico. So we
have two sites out there, and so if you live
out in New Mexico, we do have sites to serve
you out there. So many sites to serve you with
(22:40):
a free tax preparation assistance.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, I mean, and don't sleep on those high school students.
I used to be a sub and I subbed a
lot at high school and some of those classes, I
was like, this is math, So you know, it's actually
that prime age, that brain that can catch all those numbers.
And you know, and with the training from IRS, they're set.
Like you said, it gets rechecked, you know. And if
(23:04):
you're just tuning in right now, I have Ruby Alvarez,
vice President of GECU Community Development. GECU has partnered with
the Coalition for Family Economic Progress for free tax prep
for the twenty twenty five tax season via the VIDA
program Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Many locations to serve you.
(23:26):
Go to Free Taxes alpasso dot org to find the
nearest location. Now, Ruby, how does this service? Obviously it
helps people because they don't have to pay the fee
to get their taxes done by a professional or you know,
their tea over there saying they can get them this
then that amount of money, and you know, and they
end up getting in trouble other than getting that free
(23:48):
certified tax preparation help. How does that also you know,
directly or indirectly help the community.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
It really definitely does. You know. At gs T you
we want to help our unity and elevate our community,
not just with free tax preparation with financial education. We
want to make sure we educate you to save that
money for the future. You know, last year we were
able to save our community over three point three million
dollars in tax preparation fees that our members are our
(24:18):
community is able to put back in their savings account
or save for the future. You know, you never know
when you need to save for that water heater or
that emergency that may come up in the summer, and
so we highly encourage our community put that money away.
You know, you never know what can happen, and so
we encourage our community to save put that money away
(24:42):
for Christmas or for other necessities and may come up
that later on in the summer or later on in
the year. So that's something that we really focusing on,
is helping our community save for the future and put
that money away that you would have spent on those
tax preparation fees.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Definitely, and this is your thirteenth season, so it's not
like this is a new program that you're kind of
testing the waters. This has been, you know, tried and
proven and it's going to help people. And again, tax
prep can be very daunting. It doesn't have to be,
you know, and it doesn't have to cost you anything. Again,
go to Free Taxes Lpasso dot org. GCU is there
to help you. Ruby. Is there anything else that you
(25:21):
would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
No, I just want to tell you that we're here again.
Like you mentioned, we've been doing this for many years.
This is a program that we really believe in. We
could not do this without our partners, our volunteers, and
we're here to serve our community and we're very proud
of what we're doing. So again, visit our website, our
Free Taxes Lpasso dot org. We're here to help you
(25:44):
throughout the season through April fifteenth. Don't wait until the
last day, but we're here to help you and visit
our website for any questions that you have.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
There's going to be probably less of a line if
you do it now, or you know, at least before
you know. Most people wait to the last minute, so
don't do it last minute. And again, if you need
any of this information on our Instagram and Facebook for
Power one o two point one Sunday ninety nine point
nine and ninety six point three k Hey Country, the
information will be there. And Ruby, I just want to
(26:15):
say thank you for being here with me today. Thank
you for having me.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Passo. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to EPFUM at iHeartMedia dot com
or call us at nine one five three five one
five four zero zero. Tune in again next week for
(26:39):
another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding program
was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
The al Paso Public Forum airs on local iHeartRadio stations
every Sunday morning from six to six thirty am on
Power one oh two point one Sunday ninety nine point
nine and ninety six point three k Hey Country and
from seven to seven thirty am on News Radio six
ninety AM and Fox Sports thirteen eighty am. Never miss
(27:10):
a show. You can listen to episodes after they've aired
on Spreaker. If you would like to listen to an episode,
go on Facebook and find me Amber Banda. It will
be a pinnpost at the top. Click on the Speaker
account and you will be able to listen to all
past episodes. If you don't have a radio, no problem.
You can use the free iHeart app. Download the free
(27:33):
app and choose any one of our local iHeart stations
Power one oh two point one, ninety six point three,
k Hey Country, Sunday ninety nine point nine, News Radio
six ninety am or Fox Sports thirteen eighty am. Find
those in the free iHeart app and you can listen
Sunday mornings to the I'll Passo Public Forum and remember
(27:56):
on our Instagram and Facebook. For Power one oh two
point one one Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety
six point three k Hey FM, you can find pictures, flyers,
information about the interviews. A few days before the interview
comes out, as well as a link to our speaker
podcast and contact information for these organizations. If there is
(28:20):
an organization that you think should be featured on this show,
you can email me at Amberbanda at iHeartMedia dot com.
And again, thank you al Passo for listening and for
being a part of a better change for our community.
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