Friday, November 4, 2011

Month of Thanks- An Eye Opening Experience

This year at work I have the honor of serving on the United Way Committee at work. I've always liked to think I possess a giving heart, but today I realized there is always something more that can be done.

Today, I'm thankful for two things in particular: the home I live in and our warm running water that allows me to shower.

As part of our United Way campaign at work we had a field trip Friday. Several of us were able to board a van and travel to a few sites in the bi-city area and see where all of our money goes. And let me tell you, it's going to MANY good causes.

We went to the Open Door Community House, Homeless Resource Network and the Child Advocacy Center. It wasn't like I was naive and didn't know these conditions existed (especially the last one because it deals with a similar subject to my personal volunteer work). I've been on mission trips before, I've volunteered locally, but I guess the saying "out of sight out of mind" is very true. Today was a wake up call though.

All of these places have amazing programs. One of the most amazing is the shower program. Open Door has a building that looks like maybe a double wide trailer? Not 100% sure, but its a place with a number of showers where the homeless can come take a shower. How many of us shower daily (yeah, I thought so)- some of us may even shower twice a day. What would you do if you had no water to bathe yourself on a regular basis?

A block away there is the Homeless Resource Network which had a lot of programs also. One program they showed us was their storage. During business hours, homeless can store their possessions in a secure room. Note: if you are local they can ALWAYS use backpacks, suitcases, etc. This is incredibly helpful for someone who is homeless who is trying to get a job. If they go to a job interview with all their possessions, it's pretty much a dead giveaway. Also, it helps give some security back to those who have lost everything.

And that is what I liked MOST about both of these organizations. They aren't just curing the symptoms, they are trying to remedy the causes. They don't just give handouts, they teach people to become self-sufficient, give them skills and tools for bettering themselves.

Today I became recharged; motivated and excited. I thought about the shower project and how they appreciate a shower, something we expect to do daily. I thought about my new hobby of couponing. I want to start thinking about those coupons I don't plan on using and seeing what could I use them for? Maybe I don't use Dove soap, but I sure bet the shower program could. I may not use Gain or ALL detergent, but they could. Each Sunday I want to make a conscious effort to look for supplies that may be low-cost to me, but high impact on someone else.

It's easy to brush off donating because we see one or two "bad examples" of mismanagement so we write off the whole process together. But, truly, these organizations are making a difference. We are all having a hard time in this economy, but there is always someone else who has it worse and could use a little lifting up. Someone mentioned today, that even if we don't have the money to give, we also have the gift of time. I want to make sure I'm using both to do what I can. All of the little efforts add up.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...