A memoir full of stories about the often-overlooked homeless population, Last Night's Soup Run tells a tale of compassion and love via a collection of emails by Despina C. Kartson, a member of an outreach program that feeds the hungry on the streets of New York City.
Through these monthly Soup Runs over the last 10 years, the group has served more than 10,000 meals to their guests on 33rd Street. In these pages, you will learn about real people with real challenges. These individuals have taught Kartson so much, and she's privileged to pass their stories and lessons on to you. They are just like the rest of us, but they're often unseen -- passed over and lonely.
For years, via e-mails to the volunteers and supporters, Kartson has summarized the highlights of their Soup Runs. These first-person accounts offer a glimpse into the lives of those struggling every day with poverty and hunger. She has compiled those e-mails and accompanying comments from members of the outreach into Last Night's Soup Run to inspire others to help the hungry and homeless. Whether it's sharing one meal or starting your own Soup Run (which Kartson's book will help you do), you can pass on this tradition of compassion, dignity, and love. Kartson's hope is that the compassionate among us continue to love them and feed them until none who walk among us are hungry or homeless.
By purchasing this book, you are helping the very people you're reading about: All proceeds go to Philoxenia, a nonprofit founded by Kartson, which provides funding for organizations that feed the hungry and care for the homeless.
About the Author: Despina C. Kartson has been an active member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox parish in New Rochelle, New York, for more than two decades. She teaches Sunday school and serves on the parish council, and is a current Board member and past vice president of the Holy Trinity Philoptochos chapter, the philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. For ten years, Kartson's volunteer work has also extended to co-leading a Girl Scout Troop in Westchester-Putnam / Heart of the Hudson.
Professionally, Kartson has worked in marketing for global law firms for sixteen years and is currently the global director of business development and communications for an international law firm. She is a legal marketing professional: having served in many leadership positions with the Legal Marketing Association, as a fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, as a frequent speaker and moderator at legal marketing conferences, and as a published author of articles on marketing and books on litigation support.
