People all the time ask me how they can help those who are suffering. There are many ways anyone can help, even if funds are low. Today I went to JC Penney store which was having a huge clearance sale. In the middle of an aisle, there was a big rack with many disaster readiness products. There were flashlight/radio which you crank up instead of using batteries, combination grill/coolers, combination cooler/radios and emergency preparation kits.
All these items at one time had a price tag of $40 on them. There were of course mark down stickers as the store was trying to get rid of last year's products to make room for the coming year. Today the sale was supposed to be 75% off. There were 36 of the crank flashlight/radios alone. I spoke to the store manager and we worked out a deal that if I bought all the stuff, he would cut the clearance price in half again.
I was able to get essential items that will save lives in hurricane prone areas for 10% of their original cost. In other words, I got 10 items for what only 1 cost not too long ago. Of course I now have all these boxes out in the barn awaiting my next journey down to the Gulf Coast. The point is; if a person is willing to spend a little time bargain shopping, there are incredible deals out there that could greatly help either yourself or someone else.
I was thinking today that if everybody went to their local JC Penny store on Monday, they could get the same items I did at the same price I did today; for that is their next mark down. Anyway, if people with a heart to help others did this, then we could have enough of these products scattered around to then figure out how to get to where they are needed before they are needed. If anyone follows through on this idea, and ends up with a large amount of these products; please go to my Heart2Heart SHARE site and contact me.
In previous posts I mentioned the need for food. This need has grown greatly with the recent tornadoes. We are not to the point we were after Katrina when we needed to have huge city-wide food drives; but someone needs to start putting some kind of drive together and start collecting canned and boxed goods to be shipped to various locations when needed in a few weeks.
Some of you do eBay. Did you know that eBay allows you to specify a certain amount of a transaction go to the charity of your choice? Many charities have people doing nothing but selling things on eBay. Individuals can also allot a certain percentage of certain products to go to charity.
Starting in April and running all summer, every Saturday you could get your car washed ten times if you wanted by various youth groups raising money for trips. Car washes, bake sales, yard sales and auctions are all great ways to show support for a group. They are also wonderful ways to generate excitement and get more people involved.
I cannot begin to communicate the urgency of need in certain areas. I know from my travels last year that the areas hit hardest by the tornadoes earlier this week are currently being well taken care of by FEMA and the big charities such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. But, in the not too distant future these groups will all pull out and leave everything in the hands of what is known as "long term care committees". These groups are made up of representatives from various charities, churches and civic groups in the local community. Their purpose is to identify needs and work together to find ways to meet them.
This is all well and good, but what these groups will need soon are resources. It takes money, supplies and volunteers to rebuild a community and restore families to some degree of normalcy in their lives. Usually about two months after the disaster, that is when the needs start really piling up and the avenues for giving and service do so also.
No one needs to feel they cannot help their neighbor in need because of lack of finances. There are many ways to help. When I got back from my first journey to Katrina devastated Mississippi back in 2006, numerous people took it upon themselves to go door to door asking people if they had anything laying around the house not needed any longer to donate to the cause. Within a week, I had a huge truck full of everything from clothing, to furniture, to food, to building supplies and books.
At any given time, if one person gets it in their heart to share, and the fire starts burning brightly; their enthusiasm becomes contagious. Before long, others want to get involved because it is so much fun to quit worrying about yourself and become totally concerned about others. If anyone wants to do this and manages to round up some supplies; please contact me and I will arrange to pick them up wherever you are.
My Dentist and his wife left on a trip last Wednesday night. Every year they take 10 days in early February and go to a small clinic in Haiti to donate their services. When asked why they do this every year, the answer is "it is rewarding". Giving of yourself to another in need is indeed rewarding. It makes us feel good to know we are helping someone else. That is the way God set it up to work. Our greatest rewards in this life are not the ones we earned, but the ones we receive in service to others.
Please, there are more people in need now than ever before. Anything and everything you can imagine is desperately needed by someone, somewhere. There are numerous areas still devastated by Katrina. There are many communities still reeling from floods and tornadoes last summer. There are plenty of localized situations we see advertised on bulletin boards every week. There is plenty of need to go around. I pray there is plenty of help to supply those needs.
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