The Rev. Geoffrey Kohler was a pastor at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Fla., with a bunch of stuff he wanted to get rid of, including a dining room table.
He didn’t want to sell it. He wanted to give it away.
He mentioned holding a giveaway to some friends and church members, and before he knew it, the giveaway evolved into a huge event in a parking lot across from a low-income housing project.
As two women carried away Kohler’s table, he heard one of them say to the other, “Tonight is the first time my children will be sitting down to a meal at a dining room table.”
The giveaway was a big success, but when it was over, it was over. If another mother wanted a dining room table for her children, she’d have wait for another giveaway or find another way.
That’s why Kohler got in touch with Jim Morgan, founder and president of Meet the Need Ministries Inc., a Christian organization in Tampa that uses the Internet to bring people with needs together with the people who can meet the needs.