Overcomer Series Episode Two: How to Start a Movement Without Really Trying

You might want to pull up a chair and grab your favorite beverage.  This is a long post because it has a bit of a back story.  But I believe you will be blessed by taking the time to read this one.

I don’t know Rick Clark personally, but I was first “introduced” to him because my daughter works at Gonzaga University and was part of a secret project that involved Mike Rowe and his online series “Returning the Favor”.  If you don’t know who Mike Rowe is, he was the host of a television show called “Dirty Jobs” and produced a number of other projects and has written some books as well.  My favorite is when he reads letters from his parents – hilarious!  Mike’s “Returning the Favor” is a Facebook Watch series that highlights people who do amazing sacrificial things that enhance their communities. He surprises them with all kinds of gifts to help these folks do even more of what they are already doing.  He calls them “local do-gooders”.  Most of the time when I watch the episodes, I end up needing tissues.  All that said, Rick was featured on the series and my daughter got to help Mike and his team make it happen.  It pays to know people because she invited her parents to sit in on the big reveal. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTy-u0LTFw4 

At the reveal, I learned Rick’s story.  He is currently earning his Master’s Degree at Gonzaga.  But not so long ago, he was homeless, living in his car.  When he was in a better place, he did not forget what it meant to not know where he would sleep or what he would eat.  He was prompted to start a non-profit called “Giving Backpacks”, an organization that puts together backpacks filled with essential supplies for compromised people.  “Returning the Favor” came through with over $40,000 of items to help Giving Backpacks do so much more in the community. They also covered Rick’s university tuition to finish his degree in Organizational Leadership.   Giving Backpacks has handed out around 7000 packs, expanding the program to offer other resources like bus passes, gas money and help with utility bills.

Fast Forward to 2020.  Can you say “Covid lockdowns” without cringing?  As the lockdowns in our state went on for months and months, small businesses were struggling to stay open.  Most of us felt helpless to make a huge difference for all these struggling family-owned shops. Not Rick Clark. He had an idea to put an ask on social media for $200 to buy pizzas for a homeless shelter.  It served two purposes: giving a restaurant a boost and helping homeless at the same time.  His appeal raised way more than $200.  A Facebook group called “Spokane Quaranteam” was birthed and through donations from the community, Rick was able to help countless restaurants by dropping off donated funds for meals that community members could pick up for free.  That initial investment would create a wave of business and support for those local restaurants.  Thanks to the effectiveness of social media, big and small donations came in every day. One day brought in nearly $12,000 in donations.  Rick and his wife, Virginia, had a hard time keeping up with tracking and distributing all the funds to so many flailing businesses. 

Since the initial restaurant blitz, Spokane Quaranteam has grown to 34,000 members.  Recently group members donated and arranged for air conditioners during the heat wave and handed out cases of water for anyone who needed it.  Students are being sponsored for meals while they are out of school for the summer. They’ve even taken on donations of cars, fixing them up and giving them to those who have no transportation. When a need is posted in the group, that need is almost always immediately met by someone in the community.  With one small ask for some pizza, Rick has created a movement of people helping people that goes far beyond what Rick could ever do on his own. He’s created a whole network of “local do-gooders”.   

I share this story because Rick isn’t famous, although he does now have some local celebrity here in Eastern Washington.  Rick is just a very humble guy who has a heart for helping people.  He is often overwhelmed by the support from the community that is far beyond what he could hope for.  He leads by example and people follow, not because he’s charismatic or well-known, but because he lives out what he believes in a way that causes people want to join in what he’s doing.  He makes people think about what each of us can be doing to help others in need. He helps us realize that one small act of kindness can change a neighborhood, a city, or a community.  He’s an inspiration to many, and Rick Clark inspires me.