WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

He knocked on over 2,000 doors and handed out thousands of pieces of literature in support of the re-election of the 44^th President of the United States, Barack Obama. He gave free early voting community cookouts, attracting thousands from different communities in Winston-Salem to come out and vote. Art cooked over 2,000 hamburgers and hotdogs for each site. “I put in a lot of hard work to help get Obama re-elected, and I would do it all over again,” said Art.

After the 2012 Obama election, Art had a lot of food left over from the cookouts. As he was looking at the fresh, leftover food, something wonderful happened. “The spirit spoke to me and said ‘Take the food to Bethesda Center for the Homeless.’ So, I went there and set up tables with food and started cooking, and that’s when I found my calling.”

Art Vaughn, better known as Art Green, is the founder of the organization Friends Helping Friends. The organization feed thousands of the homeless in Winston-Salem during the holidays. After the success of that day at Bethesda, he decided to do it again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s when God lead Art to start Friends Helping Friends. 

For the past seven years, the organization has fed the homeless on New Years Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Vaughn got very emotional when I asked if there were one or two stories that stuck with him. “Everyone I met had a story that inspired and touched me and I let them know that I’m there for them and I love them. Sometimes I ride by Bethesda Center just to check on them. To say ‘hey,’ hug them, and remind them I’ll be back soon.”

As he was talking, I was in tears because I could feel his heart pouring out and I saw a vision of the beautiful people he serves. He continued and my tears went from pain to joy. “I know the churches are getting involved, but I want to see them get more involved. There’s a lot of organizations and churches out here, and if we all worked together, and not separate, there shouldn’t be a girl or boy, woman or man, hungry in Winston-Salem.”

This afternoon Friends Helping Friends will provide a delicious Fourth of July meal at Bethesda Center for the Homeless at 930 N. Patterson Ave. in Winston-Salem. It will begin at 2 p.m. with a prayer, and then as my family says during holiday dinners, “It’s time to throw down.”

I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “You can get in line as many times as you like. We do this to make sure the people get as much as they need. We’ll be there from 2 p.m. until the food is gone.” What’s on the menu? Trout, flounder, catfish, barbeque, fried chicken, baked potato, slaw, macaroni salad and baked beans. If you have some free time between 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., please feel free to stop by and volunteer. For more info on how to donate or volunteer for Friends Helping Friends, send Art an email at artvaughn@aol.com.