When Carol and Hurt Porter got married they promised themselves they would always help others. They started with small things—letting someone stay at their house, bringing food to a family they knew needed help— the kind of things good neighbors do. Then Mrs. Porter, a nurse, began to see children suffering from hunger at the hospital where she works in Houston. She had never realized that such a thing could happen in America. Experts told her that 200,000 kids in the city weren't getting enough to eat.
The Porters asked a grocery store in their neighborhood to donate food for hungry children. The store manager was happy to help and soon the Porters had boxes and boxes of donated food. People with hungry kids came to the Porters house to get the free groceries. Some people couldn't get to the house. Some people needed more than food for their children. So the Porters started something they call KidCare. They went to people's homes to bring them food, clothes and school supplies for their kids. So many kids needed help that the Porters spent a lot of money buying things for them. They could no longer afford special things for themselves and their own kids. But their children, Richard and Jamilhah, agreed that it was more important for lots of kids to have food and clothes than for the Porter family to have special treats.
Kid-Care grew and grew, helping more kids. Today, a Kid-Care van brings a nice, hot meal to 300 preschoolers every morning and a sack dinner to 450 kids in the evening. The kitchen in the Porter's small house is filled up with two refrigerators, two ovens and five freezers. They make 18 thousand meals a month there. That's a lot of cooking!
One day when they were driving the KidCare van, the Porters saw children digging for food in the dumpster of a fast-food restaurant. They found out that the kids lived in apartments near the restaurant. The Porters decided to bring these children good food every day.
They talked to the owner of the apartments about helping the children. He agreed and gave KidCare a place to start a day care center, Saturday classes to help kids with their school work, and a place for doctors and dentists to give the children free care! The Porters got lots of people to help, including doctors and dentists who agreed to help the children for free.
The Porters' son Richard helped with KidCare deliveries until he went off to college. Their daughter Jamilhah teaches preschoolers their ABCs. Many, many other volunteers help Kid-Care. Local businesses have donated shoes, school supplies, a computer, a delivery van and money. Mrs. Porter stretches every dollar to make each donation go a long way.
Carol and Hurt Porter don't get paid for all this, except in hugs and love. They're working so hard because they have a dream. They dream of a time when young Texans don't go to bed hungry because their parents can't afford enough food. They picture big restaurant-style kitchens where nutritious meals are prepared. They see vans delivering the meals to smiling children. They see the children's parents learning how to feed their family well without spending a lot of money, how to speak English, how to start and run a business. They see families rising out of poverty. It's a big dream, but the Porters have started making it come true in one Texas city.