12/03/2016
Help the homeless project: We have partnered with an Eagle Scout and a friend who spent his teenage years being homeless, to spread some warmth this Christmas.
We will be collecting (any size male or female) jackets, socks, gloves, hats, blankets, small pillow, crackers, oranges, packaged sausage and cheese, and large gift bags to be given away on Christmas Eve. Donation will be accepted until December 23. If you have anything to give, please drop it off at any of our store locations. We want to help as many people as we can! Our friend Jerry Davis wrote some of his story to share with you.
"From the time I was 14 until I was 16, I lived on the streets . I would take odd jobs and many times worked for food, clothes and sometimes a place to sleep.
The hardest things to do without , especially through the colder months, was how to stay warm and feel safe.
It is maybe hard to understand but to have a blanket and pillow, a jacket, a hat, or even a warm pair of socks would have provided a great comfort and warmth .
Crackers, summer sausage and foods that could keep for several days was hard to come by and something that could be carried without worrying about it being taken by someone.
There are times I would have loved to have had just one pair of long johns, or a pair of gloves.
At one point, when I was 15, it was below freezing outside. I was walking around looking for a place that I could get
Out of the weather. The sky was gray and it was starting to snow , the wind was blowing harder as it got dark.
My ears were stinging, my fingers and toes were froze, I had a flannel jacket that had Been given to me and a pair of jeans that were thin and wore.
I went to the residence of some family, but they wouldn't open their door for me. Across the street was a 1972 Chrysler Newport , it was my cousins car that had been parked for a couple of years.
The back door was unlocked so I opened it and climbed in the back seat.
The wind was howling outside and it was now snowing hard. I was shivering, but I wasn't scared. I felt Christ arms around me and that gave me warmth, then I realized I was lying on a lot of newspapers . I laid in the floorboard and covered up with the newspapers, I wish I had had a blanket, or gloves, or a decent jacket.
There are some comforts that are so small, yet to someone who had nothing, can mean the difference of feeling human, and feeling like less than nothing.
I remember very vividly being homeless, feeling unwanted, unloved , not needed, feeling hungry, lost, scared at times, but most of all, feeling like no one cared.
We can change that if nothing else at least for a day, and to some, that may change their lives knowing they matter.
Many people think of personal hygiene items, but as awful as it may sound, this usually wasn't something that was a high priority when I was cold, when I was hungry or when I was looking for a place to keep warm.
It's hard to think back to some of the really hard times during that period of my life. The hardest I am sure was being cold, and hungry and not having anyone, or anything , to lighten that burden.
I didn't want help, I didn't want charity, but I did need them.
I think that is the biggest issue with being "homeless"
In doing what we are planning, perhaps we can give some warmth, some comfort and some encouraging loving words to those who have nothing else.
I am Hoping that not only can we give those comforts of life, but also possibly some hope and love to those in this situation .
Being homeless can take your self worth and your ambitions and crush them. These people need to know that they are someone, that they matter, and that they are loved too. That truly is the hardest part of not knowing where you belong, and not having anywhere to belong.
I had, and still have very strong faith in Christ, it would be nice to share that as well and maybe we can touch someone in a way that can change their life." Jerry Davis
