S: Is for Stories that Inspirer!
My past stories meant to inspire have dealt with kids who made a difference. Mary Ann Wright, 'Mother Wright' at At 87 uses the gift of giving to help the disadvantaged. Wright, who came from humble roots, has given much of herself to serve the needy. Growing up poor in Louisiana in 1950 she took her four daughters on a train to Oakland California to find a better life. Departing from Union Station in New Orleans, where she was born, she had lost her mother at 5. In 1980 she used her $236 Social Security check for two years to buy food for a weekly dinner in those in need in Jefferson Park. They have stopped serving hot food, but have expanded into the large warehouse. On Thanksgiving, they gave away 1200 bags of food. Over the years, Wright said, she's seen a lot of changes. Lucky's market, once a big donor, has shut down. Then Albertsons came along, but that grocer has closed many of its Oakland stores. When she started feeding the needy in 1980, her foundation was one of the few groups doing such work in Oakland. All the donations came to it. As more service agencies and nonprofits opened, she's seen fewer donations from large donors. But she isn't fazed. "We have a lot of sweethearts," she said. "They know the need of the poor is great." 
That's one thing that hasn't changed -- the poor, the hungry, the homeless. People who come by to get food, every day, each with their individual stories and situations. And not all is what it seems. She noted that just Thursday people came by in a BMW to pick up bread. She doesn't question it. "They need bread," she said simply. Curtis Jones said the reason he has volunteered once a week, every week, for the past 10 years is because of Wright. "The reason why I show up every week is because she's dedicated," said Jones, who is retired. He originally thought he was going to spend one day a week working on his golf game, but ended up helping at the food pantry. "I don't know how she does what she does at her age."
She has 11 children of her own, another she adopted, and numerous others who call her mother. She is also a grandmother to 33, and a great-grandmother to 37. On holiday giveaways, where people stand in long lines that wrap for blocks long waiting to pick up their bags of groceries, Wright stands on the sidewalk with a bullhorn. Children wait in a separate line and picked up their own little bags, which included a hamburger, fruit roll-up and juice. One girl walked out with a big smile; she had just received a Monopoly game board. But it's not just Thanksgiving and Christmas when they give away food, she said, though many churches and agencies organize free holiday dinners around this time. "People got to eat more than twice a year," she said. "I'm here every morning before daylight." The San Pablo Avenue warehouse is open Monday through Friday at 1:30 p.m. to give away bread, other food and clothing. For someone who originally started by cooking hot dinners for people, this dynamo has accomplished so much. "The Lord called me to feed the hungry and when you are called", she smiles. To help her feed the poor or to find Mother Wright log onto www.mothermary.qpg.com
Generous people come from all ages and all walks of life. Caring for another human being takes just that caring and that is a F.A.C.T.
