“Look at Your Hat”

After 35 years in luxury retail, Melvin Ingram lost his job during the pandemic and wasn't sure what to do next—until a moment at his Harlem church changed everything. "Somebody said, 'Melvin, look at your shirt.' It said 'Undefeated.' Then they said, 'Look at your hat.' It read 'Gratitude.' From that point, I knew I was going to be okay." Now, Melvin runs the pantry at First Corinthian Baptist Church in West Harlem, finding purpose in serving his neighbors. "We keep coming back. That's what we do."

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Transcript:

Melvin Ingram:

My whole world got turned upside down. On April 28th, my position was eliminated. I’m in luxury retail management, which I’ve been in retail for 35 years.

I was devastated.

I didn’t know what I was gonna do. We were having a meeting here at the church at 12 PM, and I walked in the room, and I just broke down and cried.

It was me and my other leads from the food pantry here at the church, and somebody said, ‘Melvin, look at your shirt.’ The shirt said, ‘Undefeated.’

The guy said, ‘Look at your hat.’ ‘Gratitude.’

From that point on, I knew it’s gonna be okay. We’re here to serve. We’re here to serve the community. We’re here to make sure that people have food.

Food. This gets me purpose every Friday. Every one of us is impacted from COVID. But you know what?

We’re resilient.

We keep coming back. That’s what we do. We live for today. We love each other, and we serve the community.