Our Eyes Were Opened

Program Overview: Poverty is far more complicated than simply dividing people into the "haves" and "have-nots." Being in poverty can necessitate choosing food over electricity, work over childcare or rent over medicine. Sometimes, when people want to help others, they make a bad situation worse, get angry at people they want to help, or don’t know what to do. United Ministries is trying to do our part to help the community make wise and compassionate decisions when helping the people who live in poverty.

Established in 2007 when, after 24 years of serving as United Ministries’ Executive Director, Beth Lindsay Templeton stepped down from her role in order to teach, preach and write about the lessons she learned working for poverty alleviation. As the poverty education program of United Ministries, Our Eyes Were Opened has since educated over 13,000 people through workshops, simulations, the books Loving Our Neighbor and Understanding Poverty in the Classroom, and the DVD series, Servant or Sucker.

When introducing Our Eyes Were Opened, United Ministries current Executive Director Keith Trout says, “This is what United Ministries is doing to end poverty.”  Our Eyes Were Opened is one of the most unique programs in our community, offering interactive learning experiences to educators, community leaders, church congregations, college students and corporations to help them become more aware of the needs and diversity of people who live in poverty.

How It Works:  Our Eyes Were Opened offers tools such as workshops, simulations and reading lists that help the community flesh out their understanding of poverty.  These tools will aid participants not only for occasions on which they want to volunteer or donate, but also in the opportunities that come up in their daily lives with friends, family, employees, clients or panhandlers who are in need.

How to Participate: Our Eyes Were Opened provides tours, workshops and simulations in addition to a resource list to all of those interested in learning more about the poverty around them. Basic Orientation is scheduled every other Tuesday, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.  If you are interested in participating, please contact Claire Winkler at 864.335.2618 for more information or complete our online Book an Activity form.

We also have a full brochure that you can download to see at-a-glance details on each educational opportunity.