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Tampa Group's Song To Help Buy Bags For Homeless

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2008

TAMPA - Tired of listening to "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town?"

A contemporary Christian group from Tampa wrote and recorded a holiday ballad called "Remember" that puts the focus on Christ's birth.

Download the song for 99 cents, and a local homeless ministry will benefit.

"We're hoping that this song turns out to be a blessing for an organization that desperately needs some help this season," said Debbie Harrell, a member of the band, Steadfast 190.

Proceeds from sales of the song go directly to River of Grace, a downtown Tampa ministry that has been serving the homeless with food and shelter for 31 years.

Members of Steadfast 190 learned about the ministry a few years ago and were impressed with its work in the community, Harrell said. The organization goes beyond providing daily aid; it also helps "messed-up lives get back on track again" with spiritual support and job assistance.

When the Rev. Ruth Beckman, who runs River of Grace with her son, Albert, told Harrell that the ministry needed about 125 backpacks to give out to homeless men on Christmas Day, Harrell came up with the idea to sell their song as a fundraiser.

"The song had already been written. It was just waiting for a good cause," she said. "It was meant to be used for this."

Harrell found a company that will sell backpacks for $4.50 each.

Like all nonprofits that serve the homeless, Beckman said there's a big increase in the numbers of people seeking help – and a drop in donations, due to the economy.

"Last year at this time, we were serving 1,500 meals a week; now it's about 2,000," Beckman said. "We're so grateful to the band for wanting to do something like this. We need it more than ever."

"Remember" can be downloaded at steadfast190.com or at digstation.com. For more information, call (813) 293-2980. To learn more about the ministry, go to riverofgraceministries.org.

Harrell said it's only fitting that the band's original song will help those less fortunate.

"There's no better way to honor the birth of our Savior," she said. "That message sometimes gets lost with everything going on this time of year. The song is a reminder of what Christmas is really all about."

Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613.

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