Source: Reading Eagle, Pa.文件倉Dec. 19--Stephen Kobylakiewicz hasn't had much luck since his parents died, one in 2008, the other in 2012."I had been taking care of them, but then they passed away and I had to get out of there," the 47-year-old said. "I've been homeless a little over a year now."He stayed for a time at Opportunity House, a shelter at 430 N. Second St., and is now living temporarily with a friend on North Fifth Street.But he had a little luck Wednesday when he was walking on Penn Street in below-freezing temperatures.He came across the third annual Cups of Compassion event at Fifth and Penn streets, where volunteers and local businesses were giving away soup, bread, coffee, clothing and blankets."Oh, this helps a lot," he said after receiving a T-shirt, sweatshirt, a hot dog and a hamburger. "The people who are lining up here really need it. The people who are walking by, they all have jobs. They don't need it. We need it."The event began two years ago when attorney Laura E. Cooper at Liberty Law Group on North Fifth Street and some friends wanted to hand out cups of soup to the homeless for one morning.Word spread and businesses and volunteers quickly signed up.About 800 people were helped in the event's first year in 2011, when U.S. Census Bureau figures revealed that Reading -- with 41.3 percent of its residents living in poverty -- had a larger percentage of residents in poverty than any other American city with 65,000 or more people.This year, statistics showed Reading's 2012 poverty rate of 40.5 percent made it the second-most impoverished city behind Detroit.The event Wednesday served more than 1,000 people.Shortly after the giveaway began at 8 a.m., there were several people milling about the tables, gathering food and supplies.Kobylakiewicz predicted the crowd would quickly grow as word spread among the homeless and needy."I called two homeless friends of mine," he said. "This will be packed."Within an hour, the sidewalk was full of those in need."God heard my prayers," said Ruth Rodriguez, 70, as 存倉he collected clothing and food, saying she would distribute it to those she knows who are poor.As she walked away across an area covered in snow, she called out, "They're angels from the sky!"Nearby, a table was filled with bread, coffee and bagels donated by Panera Bread, Spring Township.The restaurant regularly donates its leftover food to churches, local shelters and other charities, said manager Christina Metzger."So this is right up our alley," she said.Greater Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau President Crystal Seitz said she has a vivid memory of a man who attended last year, saying he had five grandchildren at home with nothing to eat.As volunteers packed up food for him to take home, the man wept, Seitz said."It's what we're all about -- serving people," Seitz said.Poverty in Reading is what inspired Marc Goldstein to begin Blankets of Hope, which has donated 1,550 blankets to the homeless and needy over two years.Goldstein, 44, of Exeter Township was recruited to the event Wednesday by Daniel C. Clouser, president of Berkshire Baseball, which serves hundreds of hot dogs and hamburgers during Cups of Compassion every year.An Antietam School District student, junior Meghan Motze, 17, raised $800 to buy the blankets Goldstein was giving out Wednesday.Goldstein gets the blankets at $5 each from a manufacturer who gives Goldstein a discount.As Goldstein spoke about the mission of his relatively new nonprofit, a woman approached and asked if she could have a blanket.She tried to explain why she wanted it, but Goldstein didn't want an explanation."Here," he said with a smile, handing one to her.Cooper watched as people took blanket after blanket from Goldstein."They're cold," she said. "They really need those blankets. Just think about your life if what you really needed was a blanket."Contact Jason Brudereck: 610-371-5044 or jbrudereck@readingeagle.com.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) Visit the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) at readingeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存