When Carol and Willie Fowler learned that their daughter Tamara’s wedding had been called off just 40 days before the big day, they were shocked. They also had an important decision to make – what to do about the deposit that had already been paid to the venue, Villa Christina, for the 200-guest reception. Instead of letting the money go to waste, Willie suggested they turn the wedding into an event for the homeless. The next day, Carol reached out to a local charity, Hosea Feed the Hungry, and asked if they could donate the dinner.
“At first, I thought it was a prank call because it was such an amazing offering,” Elisabeth Omilami, CEO of Hosea Feed the Hungry, said in a radio interview. “And then she said she wanted to focus on women and families… 70 percent of the homeless in Atlanta are children.”
With the plan in motion, Omilami and her team reached out to other charities in the area – Nicholas House, Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, and Mary Hall Freedom House – and told them, “The Fowler family is going to have a party for you. Then they said, what do you mean? Then we said, it’s just for you. There’s no cost. All you have to do is get there.”
On the day of the event, the Fowlers’ daughter Tamara joined in on the celebration with her family. “We’re very pleased that she’s handling it so well,” said Carol. “She was also very delighted to see and know that others had an opportunity to enjoy something rather than just allow it to go to waste.”
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