GE Story

SUNDAY BRUNCH GIFT EXCHANGE STORY

Church Group donates time, medical help, bicycles

Twice a month, church groups and individual volunteers gather in Galveston, Texas to help struggling families at an event they all call “Sunday Brunch Gift Exchange (SBGE).” Crystal Crouse, founder and volunteer for SBGE says, “It is an exchange of necessities. We give them food, transportation, medical help and more and they give us the chance to grow spiritually in our faith and service.”  

But, the main attraction for most people is the bike raffle. Dale Jackson, a recently homeless and jobless man, is the winner of one of twenty-five bikes SBGE donated to raffle on Sunday.

“I’ve been waiting months for this!” Jackson said. “This really will change my life. You don’t realize how necessary transportation is until you lose your car, then lose your job, then you don’t have anything to help you live.”

Before the brunch and activities begin, pastors, volunteers and homeless all gather in circles for a prayer. Deena Crouse, Crystal’s mother, and Chris Camp, the pastor of another local church, are also two founders of SBGE that are out serving the families every other weekend. They pray for “wealth in grace, humility in actions and love in service,” as well as thanking God for the many things they do still have.

Jason Parker, a local engineer and man of faith, sets up his grills from the back of his trailer and begins his mission of making over 200 burgers and hot dogs for the families and volunteers. Other people set up water coolers, coffee and juice coolers, deli lines, breakfast lines, dessert tables and more. Parker estimates that there are over 300 people attending the brunch throughout the afternoon. “We always make enough for second helpings,” he said. “Most of these people don’t have that luxury on a daily basis.”

Deena and Crystal Crouse both bring their Bibles to every brunch and share some of their favorite stories and testaments with the diverse crowd. Deena said some have told her they have been believers their whole lives, while others have asked her what book it is she reads from.

“I have had the privilege and honor of sharing all that I know with hundreds of people. That is why I do this,” she said. “Hope. This is all about hope and just looking for something better today and tomorrow. It is about giving people the things they need to live; that’s what the bikes symbolize to this group.”

Other winners of a bicycle, Henri Pirrie, and his sister, Lavern Pirrie, sit and eat surrounded by everything they own. A walker, a few blankets, a change of clothes and an old truck that they live out of are the only things that can afford. They have been taking care of their mentally disabled brother, Tommy, for five years now and have not been able to hold down a good job.

“Really, we don’t have much. We take care of our brother and we don’t do a whole lot else,” Henri Pirrie said. “ But, we do know someone that could use this bike more than we can. I’m very happy to be able to give to someone else like these church groups give to us.”

One of the biggest and most essential parts of the SBGE’s purpose is to provide medical checkups and help for the families that don’t have any type of healthcare, which is estimated to be about eighty-five percent of them. Most of the Galvestonians can't remember the last time they went to the doctor when something was wrong and they needed help.
"We usually just deal with it somehow, take a drink and go to sleep I guess," said Anthony Jordan.
Local medical students, nurses and doctors offer their time and as much help as they can legally give the families “in exchange for good conversation,” said one Galveston nursing student.

In accompany with the medical help, food and water, clothing and bike donations, the volunteers also provide fun for the kids. One of the most popular booths is the face painting and color hairspray booth. Children from two to seventeen stand in line to wait for their turn to get colorful designs drawn on them. André Castro says his favorite color is gold and his favorite football team is the New Orleans Saints. “I always get the same thing on my cheek. The bad-ass Saints logo,” he said.
Toward the end of the afternoon, Crystal Crouse pulls raffle tickets from a bucket and announces the rest of the winners of the twenty-five bikes. Raffle tickets are free; the only rule is one per person and none for children under four years old. Everyone crowds around and gets excited to see if they will be one of the lucky ones that week. As Crystal slowly reads the numbers off of her ticket, people check and re-check their numbers to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Sarah Morgan, a Houstonian that moved to Galveston a year ago in search of better opportunities and help for the homeless, found out that she won a bike from the raffle. “I haven’t owned anything but the clothes on my back for over four years,” she said. “I think I’m going to pick the bike with the basket on the front. My dog should have a nice place to sleep even if I don’t.”

 Angela and Ansel Grabein have been waiting all day to find out if their dad was the winner of a bike. Finally, in the last minutes of the raffle, their ticket number is called out and they get the last bike of the day. Although they are both too young and small to ride it by themselves, their dad said, “I will probably let them ride on the handlebars with me, but they will really enjoy playing around on it and knowing that one day they will be big enough to use it too.” The Grabein's have lived in Galveston most of their lives and have never grown up with much, but you wouldn't be able to tell by their demeanors. All of the church groups and volunteers as well as the other Galvestonians know who they are and how much joy they bring to every Sunday brunch gift exchange.


At the end of the day, Crystal gathers everyone that is left for a group picture. “I know these people have huge hearts. That’s why we try to help them as much as we can. We all have a great time doing it. It feels good,” she said. “But the one thing that I have never been able to take home is a family picture … today will be that day. We are all family here, and I get to put our picture on my refrigerator.”

Clear Creek Community Church