You are doing what???
Call me crazy,
but I have a new project and I couldn’t be more excited! Some of you will be
all over this one and some will not. Let me say this is just one of the ways
I’ll be sharing it with friends and family so if it is not your thing, then
scroll on by…I love you all!
After reading a
post on Facebook from one of my besties, I picked up the phone to call her. She
has taken on the task of collecting children’s coats and toys for the 200 incoming
Afghan families that will soon be relocating in Louisville.
She had met
with one family, with a translator and a member of Kentucky Refugees
Ministries, to greet them and to try to find out how she could help with their
immediate needs. The children only knew two words of English, “Good Morning”
and they repeated it more than once, beaming with pride for being able to speak
something at all. Many organizations in our very generous city are taking on
the different areas of need and this friend of mine offered to work on
children’s coats and toys…all sizes and all age groups.
The next day,
after speaking with her, I took off to go to Once Upon A Child, a fairly
well known consignment shop. I planned to spend $100 on children’s coats. With
great success, I was able to purchase ten really nice, unisex coats. I spent
$118 and I could not have been more pleased with myself.
On my way home,
a “light bulb” went off in my overloaded brain! How could I do more? Then, my
brain went into action. Are you ready?
Beginning
today, my new project is Operation Laundry Basket (#operationlaundrybasket). I am working on putting together 200 laundry
baskets that will be given to families as they begin to arrive and settle in.
These baskets will have paper goods, like toilet paper, paper towels, and
kleenix, dish soap, bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, masks, hand sanitizer, shampoo,
decks of cards, coloring books, etc…We’re going to find things to make these
baskets useful welcome gifts.
I thought to
myself, if I was dropped off in the middle of town, with no purse, no phone, no
money, and unable to speak the language, what would I do first? Find shelter? Find
food for myself and my family? What if I was sick? Where do I start? I have a
feeling I would just want to sit down and cry. When I mentioned this to my brother,
he said, “you’d be scared, but you would be grateful not to be in a city of
smoke and noise from bombs dropping and war surrounding you.” He is right.
These people are coming to a strange, new life, but seeing the green grass and
trees, finding shelter, (although some are sub-standard), and they are grateful…despite
having basically nothing but what they are wearing and what they were able to
throw into a backpack.
I’m no saint,
but for some reason, I feel drawn to this cause. Personally, I prefer to donate
items rather than money to a charity, because I know where my items are going. So,
I am sharing the Amazon Wish List with my followers and anyone
else who may be interested. This list is set up to allow you to order and have
the items delivered directly to me. The list may change or be updated so check
back often. In addition, if you have access to any of these items, outside of
the Amazon list, let me know because I am certainly open to getting things from
all sources. Just let me know and we can arrange pickup.
Also, if you have a class or group that needs a project and you’d like to get
them involved, let me know. We can assign them to specific things to make it
something just for them. There are many needs and e more people we get involved
the easier it will be to fill those needs.
The Amazon link
is below:
Again, please
only participate if you feel so inclined. If you have sources for any of these
things or would like to purchase elsewhere, no problem. Just let me know so we
can remove them from the list.
If you have any
questions or need any additional information, let me know. Thanks for letting
me use today’s blog for my public service announcement! Let the games begin!!!
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