Happy MLK Jr. Day, a national day of service that Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. Maxine and two of her friends need service hours for NHS, so we helped them find an opportunity to serve this morning. They chose to support New Hope Housing. We gathered at her friend’s house and jumped on a Zoom call, and the representative, Donald, explained what they do and the support they need.
New Hope Housing’s mission is to end the cycle of homelessness by giving people the support they need to change their lives and live independently. Donald showed us examples of hypothermic kits (large ziplock bags filled with travel size toiletries and such) and welcome home kits – regular and deluxe - for people making a new start, which includes supplies like sheets, a blanket, a pillow, laundry soap, etc. (small appliances and gift cards added in the deluxe). Whenever someone thanked him for what he does, he was quick to respond with something like, “No, it’s all of you. It’s the whole community.” But really, thank goodness for people like Donald.
The girls sprang into planning mode when the call ended. We agreed with them that we should put together a few welcome home kits, since Donald said that was the biggest need when we asked him. They also wanted to put together a few hypo kits. To Target we went. They shopped, scanned items for cost (of course, they already had the Target app on their phones), ticked items off the list, discussed color choices, and shopped for bargains. We stopped at home to assemble the kits and then delivered them to Donald.
Maxine said she would happily spend her time doing this type of thing more often. No offense to the environment, she said, but this was so much more meaningful than cleaning up a park because you knew that your efforts were helping someone right now. Granted she wasn’t spending her own money, but she definitely felt like she was doing something important. Once again, I was reminded of how good it feels to help others and experience a sense of purpose, to get out from under your own gaze and focus on others.
My Corner of the Village 