How do you help those in need?? ***Share ideas here!***

jacquelynca

Hi all.  I've just been so inspired and my heart is so full after this last weekend in Seattle and everything leading up to it with the home shows.  Let's keep that ripple of positivity going and share our ideas of how we can do small things in our own communities to help with homeless or those in need!  Here are some of mine...

-The obvious, Food Banks. Volunteer at a food bank. Donate to a food bank. During the holidays have a bin in your place of work for people to donate.
-Find a classroom on Donors Choose and help make a real difference in a classroom www.donorschoose.com
-Help a family in need by setting up a meal train for them/Make and deliver a meal to someone on meal train www.mealtrain.com
-My kids elementary school always has a Christmas Tree in the office during the holidays with ornaments you can pick to sponsor a family in need at the school with christmas gifts. 
-Hold a "back to school" drive and ask people to donate backpacks, school supplies, etc to give to a family in need at yours or a local elementary/middle/high school.
-Next time you're out to dinner, save your left overs and give to a homeless person 
-Bring a homeless person a cup of coffee, a meal, a smile, a warm hello
-Call a local school office and see if you can put some money on a child in needs lunch account

What are some things you do or have seen done in  your community??  We can't all raise 11 million dollars, but any one of us can do something small and together we can make a big difference!  

killmoretrout

Good idea, good list, you covered a great deal of bases.  A phrase I heard a few times in Seattle last week was "homeless neighbors".  I think it's important to remember these people are people, our neighbors, not "the other".  When it's safe to, offer a warm hello like you said, sit, talk with them, treat them like humans, which a lot of times doesn't happen.  I'm going to work on some of these things myself.  Glad the message about helping was received and is being advanced and it's not all setlists and merch and things like that.  Good on you.

jacquelynca

killmoretrout said:

Good idea, good list, you covered a great deal of bases.  A phrase I heard a few times in Seattle last week was "homeless neighbors".  I think it's important to remember these people are people, our neighbors, not "the other".  When it's safe to, offer a warm hello like you said, sit, talk with them, treat them like humans, which a lot of times doesn't happen.  I'm going to work on some of these things myself.  Glad the message about helping was received and is being advanced and it's not all setlists and merch and things like that.  Good on you.

Not gonna lie, i was super stoked on Friday’s set list and got my poster and shirt :-).  However the message can not be ignored. Kindness is free, a smile and a nice conversation can change someone’s whole day, totally agree with you there. Let’s all work on this together!

killmoretrout

I bought all kinds of cool shit, don't get me wrong.   I should have left that merch part out altogether.  I'm just glad there's a topic on the good, very important stuff that can keep going every day before and after the shows.  Thank you for that. 

tschav

Thanks for the post. The spirit of last weekend got me inspired to do more and I've been meaning to do some of those things on the list.

Another thing my wife and I do is keep bags of snacks, or if we get free samples of things we won't use (food from race goodie bags, toiletries or toothbrush/paste samples from the dentist, etc), and store them in the glove box. When we're driving and someone's panhandling at an intersection, we have items to hand out. If it's getting closer to winter we will also occasionally put old coats in the car and hand them out. It requires little effort, just being mindful to have it in the car when the opportunity arises.

jacquelynca

tschav said:

Thanks for the post. The spirit of last weekend got me inspired to do more and I've been meaning to do some of those things on the list.

Another thing my wife and I do is keep bags of snacks, or if we get free samples of things we won't use (food from race goodie bags, toiletries or toothbrush/paste samples from the dentist, etc), and store them in the glove box. When we're driving and someone's panhandling at an intersection, we have items to hand out. If it's getting closer to winter we will also occasionally put old coats in the car and hand them out. It requires little effort, just being mindful to have it in the car when the opportunity arises.

I love this!  Great idea!  

killmoretrout

Yup, stellar idea.

jacquelynca

https://pearljam.com/news/the-home-shows-thank-you-from-the-band-1533757893

jacquelynca

I wanted to add another place to either volunteer or donate to..if you can find a women’s shelter in your area.  In my area we have a place called shepherds gate that helps women and their children escape cycles of addiction, homelessness and abuse. 

brianlux

tschav said:

Thanks for the post. The spirit of last weekend got me inspired to do more and I've been meaning to do some of those things on the list.

Another thing my wife and I do is keep bags of snacks, or if we get free samples of things we won't use (food from race goodie bags, toiletries or toothbrush/paste samples from the dentist, etc), and store them in the glove box. When we're driving and someone's panhandling at an intersection, we have items to hand out. If it's getting closer to winter we will also occasionally put old coats in the car and hand them out. It requires little effort, just being mindful to have it in the car when the opportunity arises.

This is a great idea.  I've handed out snacks at a red light or stop sign a bunch of times.  In the summer, when its hot, a bottle of water helps too.

Also, if someone asks for money for food I don't know if that's really what they are going to spend the money on so I'll give them something to eat of buy them a  cup of coffee. 

jacquelynca

brianlux said:

tschav said:

Thanks for the post. The spirit of last weekend got me inspired to do more and I've been meaning to do some of those things on the list.

Another thing my wife and I do is keep bags of snacks, or if we get free samples of things we won't use (food from race goodie bags, toiletries or toothbrush/paste samples from the dentist, etc), and store them in the glove box. When we're driving and someone's panhandling at an intersection, we have items to hand out. If it's getting closer to winter we will also occasionally put old coats in the car and hand them out. It requires little effort, just being mindful to have it in the car when the opportunity arises.

This is a great idea.  I've handed out snacks at a red light or stop sign a bunch of times.  In the summer, when its hot, a bottle of water helps too.

Also, if someone asks for money for food I don't know if that's really what they are going to spend the money on so I'll give them something to eat of buy them a  cup of coffee. 

Yes, if someone asks me for money i always offer to buy them a meal instead!

lexicondevil

The school I work at is the beneficiary of many of the things you listed. Donorschoose has been vital in getting the things we need to effectively teach. The schools in high poverty areas are dealing with so many external issues that it is even harder when you don't have the supplies and equipment you need to most effectively guide and educate the kids. Thank you to all of you who donate to a project on Donorschoose!

jacquelynca

Miss.Snowdrop

Where I live there's an initiative to hand out hot water bottles to homeless people in winter and there are businesses such as cafes and restaurants that re-fill them for free. 
And I crochet a lot and once a year I raid my yarn stash and make a bunch of hats from left over yarns and donate them, sometimes to homeless people, sometimes to refugee camps. 

Gibson

Every fall/winter I buy as many warm second hand coats as I can and hand them over to the homeless shelter. It's not much, but I can't stand walking by a homeless person that isn't warm enough.

KingJeremyTheWicked82

jacquelynca said:

I love this idea! 

KingJeremyTheWicked82

I run two charities in my hometown and we have raised money for various healthcare charities over the years, although we are always looking to expand to other causes.  We like the idea of providing food, clothing, essentials, even coaching - to the homeless 

jacquelynca

KingJeremyTheWicked82 said:

I run two charities in my hometown and we have raised money for various healthcare charities over the years, although we are always looking to expand to other causes.  We like the idea of providing food, clothing, essentials, even coaching - to the homeless 

Love this and love that this post is still going!!!  My work works closely with our local women’s shelter.  We offer free classes to the children at the shelter and have a donation box for customers to donate.  We also host 2 free community events a year (pix with Santa and pix with the Easter bunny) and just ask for donations to the local shelter.  Just knowing we can provide a safe and happy place for these children if only for an hour a week warms my heart.  

KingJeremyTheWicked82

jacquelynca said:

KingJeremyTheWicked82 said:

I run two charities in my hometown and we have raised money for various healthcare charities over the years, although we are always looking to expand to other causes.  We like the idea of providing food, clothing, essentials, even coaching - to the homeless 

Love this and love that this post is still going!!!  My work works closely with our local women’s shelter.  We offer free classes to the children at the shelter and have a donation box for customers to donate.  We also host 2 free community events a year (pix with Santa and pix with the Easter bunny) and just ask for donations to the local shelter.  Just knowing we can provide a safe and happy place for these children if only for an hour a week warms my heart.  

   Awesome!  I love this and I might use this for our charity too!  Thanks for sharing