A Day to Help, and Hope

10,000 City Residents Get Advice, Even Haircuts, at Charity Convoy

Daniel Nelson hadn't had his shoulder-length Jheri curl trimmed in four years.

But in Parking Lot 7 at RFK Stadium yesterday, the 45-year-old Southeast Washington resident sat down in a folding chair and put his faith in the hands of a higher power. Her name was Rachel Corbett, 21, a stylist from Columbus, Ohio.

It was nothing fancy, mind you, just a trim of the sideburns and half-inch off the back to "even things out," as Nelson put it. He picked up a mirror to inspect Corbett's work.

"She did a good job," said his friend Everett Matthews, 42, who had gotten a manicure at a booth nearby. Nelson, who is retired and disabled, gave Corbett a hug.

This was the kind of small step toward personal transformation that organizers of the "Convoy of Hope" had in mind when they staged an unusual event for 10,000 city residents yesterday at RFK: free music, free food, free career advice, free health screenings, free prayer guidance and free groceries.

Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit group from Springfield, Mo., joins with local churches around the world for community outreach and disaster relief in low-income neighborhoods. The organization was founded in 1994 by Hal Donaldson, a businessman whose father was killed and mother injured in 1969 by a drunk driver, resulting in hard times for his family.

Donaldson raised money and recruited partners to build the charity, which held 43 events in the United States and visited 26 countries in 2006, according to its Web site.

"D.C. is the nation's capital, but it's still a place where people need help," Jonathan Shradar, a volunteer, said when asked why Convoy decided to hold a gathering in Washington.

The event had been planned for Saturday but was delayed by Tropical Storm Hanna. Lines of eager residents stretched along the parking lot, and 10,000 hamburgers went fast.

"On one level, we're giving people groceries and medical services and job advice, but on the larger level, we're offering people hope," said Joel Schmidgall, a lead organizer from the National Community Church, an interdenominational church with four locations in the area. He estimated that the event cost $100,000 in donations and volunteer services.

"Hope" was there for such people as Peter Whyte, 50, of the District, who had come to the career counseling booth with a piece of paper on which he had written his work history in construction and sales. With the help of a volunteer counselor, he typed the information into a laptop computer. With a few clicks, Whyte walked away with a neatly formatted résumé and a stored copy on a computer disk.

"I'm very elated," Whyte said. "I'm an aviation specialist. I might go work at the airport."