One Tuesday a Month

When Jon Bradford managed an office building in Los Angeles, he didn’t like what he saw on the streets: homeless men and women living out of cardboard boxes. “It bothered me a lot,” he says. “I knew I had to do something about it.”

After moving to Portland, Oregon, Brother Bradford did do something about it. Since September 1992 he and his wife, Ellen, along with their children and some friends, have taken a full-course dinner one Tuesday each month to the Transition Projects homeless shelter in downtown Portland.

With the help of donations by local companies and individuals, the Bradfords buy, prepare, and serve the 100 meals themselves. A typical Bradford menu includes a fresh green salad, shepherd’s pie, and home-baked cookies—a welcome change from the usual soup and bread.

“The Bradfords are unique,” says Lila Wolfenstein, volunteer coordinator for Transition Projects. “They are the only volunteers who are not backed directly by a church or some other organization.”

The Bradfords’ 20-year-old son, Scott, who is now serving a mission in Germany, says, “One person can make a big difference in the world. When I get home after serving the meals, I feel electric.”

Brother Bradford serves in the high priests group leadership and Sister Bradford serves as the Relief Society president of the Willamette Ward, Lake Oswego Oregon Stake.—Michael Fitzgerald, West Linn, Oregon