Tag: homeless

Change the world for $10

Kevin Hendricks is always finding great ways people can make a real difference. And these two ways don’t take much at all.

“You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one person.”


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50,000 Shoes in 50 Days
Anne Jackson teamed up with Soles4Souls to issue a challenge: Buy 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days. $5 will buy you two pairs of shoes! Soles4Souls gets shoes to people who need them, helping to keep them safe and healthy. There’s less than a week left in the challenge and nearly 40,000 pairs of shoes to go.
Buy a pair of shoes now.

Dreaming of a Dry Christmas
invisiblepeople.tv is a great site telling the stories of real homeless people. The man behind it, Mark Horvath, is working with homeless people in Los Angeles and has seen a need for raincoats. Michael Buckingham of Holy Cow Creative wants to send Mark 100 coats. He’s dreaming of a dry Christmas. $4.29 is all it takes to buy a raincoat for a homeless person.
Buy a raincoat now!

Two great ways to change the world for three different people. Just as a note – I gave to both of these groups. How many of you will match me? What other gifts are you giving this holiday season that will make that kind of impact?

I’ll add one other way you can change a person’s Christmas for under $10.

Giving Christmas to Daniel’s Den
Josh got word last week that there are five women living at Daniel’s Den in Waxahachie, the only homeless shelter for women and children in Ellis County. These five women are not going to be getting anything for Christmas, but Josh’s wife and several other women are putting together several gift packages for the women and I do believe you can still help. Drop me an email to find out how you can participate.


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Helping the homeless stay warm

HT to Kevin Hendricks for keeping me up to date on many homeless issues and causes for celebration… like this one ::

In 2007, TAXI celebrated 15 years of success. To mark the occasion, they wanted a big idea, one that would give back to the community. The brief was sent out, and executive creative director, Steve Mykolyn, came back with The 15 Below Project. Its first initiative – a jacket for the homeless.

The jacket would be breathable, waterproof, lightweight, and the lining would be made up of pockets throughout. And these pockets would be able to be stuffed with newspaper to provide adjustable levels of insulation from the cold. “We’ve survived 15 years, now we’re going to help others survive the night,” said Mykolyn, who enlisted long-time friend and designer, Lida Baday, to create the jacket.

Adding weight to the 15-year theme, as well as lending the project a name, is the Cold Weather Alert many cities issue when the temperature drops to -15ºC.

“It’s a lifeline for people without homes. They’re a pretty low-cost, immediate way to address a huge issue,” said Paul Lavoie, co-founder, chairman, and chief creative officer of TAXI. “Our approach to solving problems – of any sort – has always been to question convention. This won’t eliminate homelessness, but it can make a lot of people more comfortable.”

On behalf of clients and staff, 3,000 15 Below jackets will be donated to people living on the streets throughout Canada and the U.S.

In case you missed it – this new jacket is covered with pockets that make it possible to stuff the jacket full of newspaper, keeping the wearer warm in temperatures lower than 15-degrees. While it doesn’t end homelessness, it sure makes things a lot more bearable for those living on the streets during the frigid winters. The coat also can double as a backpack, a pillow or a raincoat.

Very cool. Love it!

Get your hands dirty :: July 12

July 12th folks from encounter – as well as anyone else interested will spend a day working in and around Daniel’s Den in Waxahachie. Daniel’s Den is a ministry in Waxahachie, with the goal of reaching and helping the homeless of Ellis County.

There are a number of ways folks can help:

  • the back porch screen needs to be repaired
  • lots of caulking needs to be done
  • furniture needs to be moved
  • edging and mulching the front yard (mulch is free but trucks are needed)
  • flowers planted in the front
  • new lid (and or box) for trash box to keep dogs out of trash cans
  • fence needs to be built in the rear of the property
  • banana boxes needed to help organize garage sale items
  • garage sale items need to be organized
  • door needs to be painted and installed
  • items need to be moved from the old shelter location to the new one
  • shelves need to be installed in pantry

items needed:

  • 8′ ladder
  • twin bed and mattress sets
  • 2 full size mattresses (mattress only)
  • flowers
  • fencing
  • caulk and caulking guns
  • shelves

In addition to the regular work that day, if you’re interested in helping put together food and drink for those working that day, please let us know as well.

If you see something you’re interested in and would like to help, please let me know.

Faith ideas :: Become a home for the homeless

We talked last night at our community group of some ways we can/should put the words of Jesus into real application and practice. CMS shared this idea today and thought it was a definite great idea for local churches.

It reminds me of a great point Shane Claiborne made in “Jesus for President.” He said that while many Christians will get up in arms against things like abortion, they’re rarely willing to actually put real action into their fight. He said that Mother Theresa (whom Claiborne spent several months with) was strongly against abortion, but rather than condemn a mother for considering it, or even possibly for the actions that conceived the child, she welcomed the mother and child into her home and cared for them specifically. She didn’t just tell an un-wed mother – abortion is sin – now go solve your problem. She said, “abortion is wrong but so is me putting you out on the street expecting you to deal with this issue alone. Let me help you in the midst of your crises.”
Continue reading Faith ideas :: Become a home for the homeless

pray for the least of these

tonight it’s frigid cold in Dallas. mid 30’s – 20’s I would estimate and maybe colder by early morning.
tonight Laurie and I played two rounds of miniature golf in our nice warm harm in suburbia.
tonight thousands sleep under overpasses and cardboard boxes less than 30 miles from us.
pray for them. pray that God warms their bodies and their hearts. and pray for us as a people when we drive by them and judge them with our thoughts and our stares.