"Call Their Name hit #1 on the Independent Music Network Charts for several weeks. I live in an area in Kansas City called the City Market, or River Market depending on who you talk to. We sometimes have a fairly substantial population of folks who currently do not have a home. I have become friends with several of the folks, as I met them walking

"Call Their Name hit #1 on the Independent Music Network Charts for several weeks. I live in an area in Kansas City called the City Market, or River Market depending on who you talk to. We sometimes have a fairly substantial population of folks who currently do not have a home. I have become friends with several of the folks, as I met them walking my dog WORF. They have watched him grow from a cute little ball of fur into the 65 lb. beast he is today. They always play with him and make a big deal out of seeing him. He loves seeing them and looks for them every time we are in the park. Just before Christmas, I was walking WORF through the park and saw something that really touched me. This event evolved into “Call Their Name” I saw a man with a grocery cart full of backpacks. He was handing them out to the folks who live in the park. They contained essentials items like gloves, hats, coats, some food, stuff like that. As he handed them out, each of the recipients were very grateful for the gifts.

There is one guy, named Sam, who does not really hang out with the group. He usually stays by himself, sitting on a bench, staring at the ground. As the man approached him, he held the backpack out and said, “Merry Christmas Sam”. Sam stood up, looked the man in the eye, and said “Thank you, this is the best Christmas present I’ve ever had”. The man said, come on Sam, it’s just stuff to help, and we do this every year. Sam then replied “It’s not the backpack and all the stuff. It’s the fact that you knew who I am, you know I am person, not just some homeless guy hanging out in the park. You knew my name and you called me by my name”. That interaction touched me deeply and was the inspiration for “Call Their Name”.