Lenor Penferd knows firsthand what it is like to be homeless and live in society’s shadows.
Now an Athens small business owner, Penferd is giving back to the community by using his company to host its first annual Feed the Homeless event, scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. Monday at The Sparrow's Nest, a Christian Ministry located at 745 Prince Ave.that provides laundry and shower facilities for those in need. It also has meeting and dining rooms to organize and distribute clothing and food.
Penferd was one of seven children of a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. He grew up in the Bethel Homes and Jack R. Wells Homes low-income housing complexes, an environment he said led him to make lifestyle choices that did not reflect the person he really was.
“To help my mother I began to sell drugs at the age of 11 so I could have school clothes,” he said.
Penferd fell into a life that consisted of slinging drugs, living in abandoned homes and shelters, and in jail.
“After a life of making bad decisions and wasting valuable time of my life incarcerated, I decided to make a change for the better,” he said.
He obtained a commercial driver’s license and in 2018 started up his own company, Penferd Trucking LLC.
Penferd found he was now in a position to pay forward his newfound success. and Feed the Homeless is the first of other such events to come said.
“Your current situation does not determine your future, there is always time to improve your life,” he said. “Penferd Trucking encourages everyone to partake in random acts of kindness in their daily lives.
Anyone wishing to contribute in any way to Feed the Homeless at The Sparrows Nest can contact Penferd at penferdtruckingllc@gmail.com.