Greenville Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 15) in the lead poverty and what they can do to help. How did the idea come about? A: Our Eyes Were Opened officially began Aug. 1, 2007. Through the years I realized that even though people really wanted to help others, they may have made a bad situation worse, gotten angry at the very people they wanted to help, or didn’t have a clue what to do. Because I knew the mistakes that we had made at United Ministries during the last two decades, I knew that I could help others learn from my mistakes as they reached out in wise and compassionate ways. Much of Our Eyes Were Opened grew out of conversations I had had with ministers, volunteers, donors, business people, community leaders and congregation members. I developed workshops and seminars as an outgrowth of these challenging conversations. Q: Tell me a little bit about the focus of the program and some of its current offerings. A: We have a workshop for teachers entitled “Understanding Poverty in the Classroom,” which equips teachers who are primarily middle-class to be more effective with their students who come from poverty. We offer a tour of blighted neighborhoods in Greenville and facilitate a poverty simulation which helps people experience the challenges of keeping a family housed, safe and fed. We’ve developed several exercises and workshops for teens to help them better empathize with their classmates who may live in poverty. The workshop that began all this, “Helping Others: Servant or Sucker,” helps people reach out to others with wisdom and compassion. Q: What has been the biggest challenge in your new role? A: Keeping up. The program has grown faster and in deeper ways than I could ever have imagined. Q: The biggest success to date? A: Seeing people’s eyes open. I can be teaching a workshop or leading a simulation and literally see people light up when they understand something about poverty that they did not get before. Occasionally I witness them turn from a stereotypical view of an aspect AUGUST 2008 | Greenville MAGAzine opening eyes By kristi keenan i Photo By ashley fulmer Beth templeton The following conversation with Beth Templeton, former executive director of United Ministries, sheds light on one of the most thought provoking programs ever to hit Greenville. Q: How and when did you get started at United Ministries as executive director? What got you interested in the nonprofit sector? A: I began working part-time at United Ministries Oct. 1, 1982. My title was church and community director. By January 1983, I was full time and became the executive director, May 1, 1983, a position I held until July 31, 2007. The short answer for how I ended up in the nonprofit world is that God placed me here. The longer answer is that I began seminary when I was thirty years old after being a teacher, community volunteer, small business owner and stay-at-home mom. The entire time I was studying for my Master’s in Divinity degree, I thought I was preparing for small church pastorates. When I graduated, I was the only female in my class and the only one without a job. United Ministries contacted me about working with them because we had interacted a bit during my senior year in seminary. I really didn’t want to come to United Ministries because I thought it would close too many doors for me. In truth some doors did close but more doors opened in remarkable and astounding ways beyond my wildest imagination. Q: now you’ve created Our eyes Were Opened, an outreach of United Ministries geared towards helping people better understand 15
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