In this season of plenty, this time of excess – lights, music, cookies, candy, wrapping paper, bows, turkeys…
It is easy to forget that there are some who have nothing.
And for them, instead of a
season of joy and song, this season is one of cold.
It’s easy to forget
them. And for some, sometimes easier to
ignore them.
Because acknowledging them
means acknowledging the inequity in our country. The sad reality that some have much, and some
have none.
We live in the 7th
wealthiest county in America, Arlington, Virginia. The average median income here is $132,380.
Yet, there are people who
come to the Little Yellow Free Pantry outside our home 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week.
Some of our visitors have housing. They may rent an apartment for their family. Perhaps they are working 2, maybe 3 jobs. But still that is not enough income to pay the rent, the utilities, the gas, and put food on the table.
Some of our visitors rent
a room in a house. They have a bed, a
bathroom, but no access to a kitchen, only a small fridge, microwave, or
hotplate in the room.
Some of our guests live in
their cars. One lives in his van – lost his
home in a fire and had no insurance.
With these people, we see the back seats filled with all of their
belongings – coat, pillow, food, toilet paper.
And some of our guests have
no indoor place to call home. They live
in the woods, on the street, in a bus stop, in a store front after the business
closes for the night.
It is COLD these
days. Tonight the low is 36 degrees, tomorrow
32. Some people go into the shelter for the
night but others brave the weather and stay outdoors.
During these cold spells,
sometimes I quietly complain about having to go out and put food in the pantry. On days it is raining, or the steps are icy, I
sometimes get cranky. Then I think, “Susan,
you will be outside in the freezing weather for 5 minutes. The people who need this food may be out in
it all night. Get to work”.
One of our guests is a
very mild mannered, quiet, polite person who is experiencing homelessness. They immigrated to America, and I am quite
certain that living on the street is not what they imagined when they dreamed
of a new life here. They come for food
and if I see them, I make sure to go out and talk and make a special bag for
them. You see, they collect food not
only for themselves, but for another person who does not have housing and lives
outdoors but is not healthy enough to come to the pantry.
Yesterday when they came I
noticed they had no gloves, no mittens. “Your
hands are cold! Do you have mittens?” I asked. “No ma’am, I do not,” they told me.
I had just given them a
holiday gift – one for them and one for their friend. And inside it – gloves. They didn’t know it yet, but they had gloves…
You see, last month I begrudgingly
took on a project. I didn’t want to do
it, just like sometimes I do not want to brave the cold to fill up the pantry. But someone from a local synagogue reached
out and asked if there was something they could do to help Kindness Activist. They wanted to do a mitzvah. But they had specific parameters and if it
was to happen, it would be me who would have to organize it.
Only, I was in the midst
of the Santa Project. And the advent/countdown
calendar. And work. And the usual tasks of life like paying bills
and replying to emails. And I didn’t think
I could add another thing to my already full plate.
But I took a step back and
looked at it all. Here was a group of
people who really wanted to help, they just needed a prompt, a mission. Like so many, they wanted to get involved
and give back but they weren’t sure how to do it.
So, I set about planning.
I decided that gifts for
people experiencing homelessness would be perfect. And not just any gift. At the holidays many people are generous and
hand out food or stocking hats or socks to people who are homeless. But no – these needed to be PROPER
PRESENTS. Respectful gifts. Gifts that would be useful but also
acknowledge the recipient’s humanity, not just their need.
I asked the person from
the synagogue if they would be willing to wrap the gifts. Kindness Activist would supply everything –
wrapping paper, boxes, tape, presents – they simply needed to provide the
effort (and the scissors).
On December 15th they set to work making gift bags for 20 people. In the bags are:
A
stocking hat
A
flashlight
Extra
batteries
Lip
balm
Beef
jerky
A
Starbucks canned drink
A
deck of cards
Nail
clippers
Tic
Tacs
A
chocolate bar
A
pair of socks
Hand
warmers
A
pen
A
notebook
A
bag of Hershey kisses
And
a holiday note or drawing from a local child
The volunteers wrapped
each of the items so that the people who got them would have lots to open. They lovingly put them into big, beautiful
bags.
And this week I got to
hand out the first 2.
The person was happy to
receive them. They didn’t have any idea
what was inside and used the pretty bags to carry all of the other groceries they
got – soup, meat, fruit, drinks, cookies.
I like to imagine what they must have thought when they got back to
their spot and took a peek inside. Did they
open all of the gifts at once? Did they
savor them and open one per day?
We have 18 more bags to
hand out today and tomorrow. I know one
goes to the person who has no housing who comes to the pantry and I make coffee
for – no sugar, just milk. Last time
they came they, like the other guest, had no mittens or gloves. But in the freezing cold we saw that their
hands were covered in nylon men’s socks.
Those could not provide much warmth but they are better than hands
exposed to the frigid air. It is not
easy holding a piping hot cup of coffee and a cup of hot soup with socks on
your hands, but they managed.
I am grateful. Grateful for my home and my pillow and my running
water and my mittens.
And I am embarrassed. Ashamed to have so much when some have so
little.
So I will share these
gifts. I will spread a message of happy
holidays.
And I will hope for better
days ahead for these friends.
Special thank you to Congregation Etz Hayem for reaching out, wrapping many gifts, and helping make the holiday season a bit more bright for some members of our community. And special thanks to the children who made artwork to be included in the packages.
Kindness Activist funds
used: $320.75 ($16.04 per gift)
The reminder that we all
deserve joy and a little gift: priceless
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