maryfrang

We had the same feelings when we moved from our house after 38+ years. We made uncountable trips to the Salvation Army with boxes,bags and any containers we could find with clothes, household items, including bedding and towels etc. It felt so good to help others.

Wanabee Quiltin

I did not mention that all the way home I kept saying to myself "There but for the Grace of God go I".

coopah

Yes, there but for the grace of God, go I. We cleaned out a small cottage my parents had. We did a yard sale. Everything else went to a charity. They came and picked up the furniture after we'd vacated. That took a lot of stress out of what to do with everything. Hubs made many trips with "stuff" to the charity as well. So nice to be able to help others. The charity wouldn't take the TV which was old and had a cracked top (But it worked fine). The realtor called and asked if we wanted to leave it in the house or put it by the curb. Her boys put it by the curb and it was gone by the time her lunch hour was finished. That made us laugh, but also remember, "There but for the grace of God." Thanks for reading this story.

puma

what a great thing you are doin. good for you. I just read in our local paper yesterday (new York) that there are 60,000 homeless people. 60 thousand. can you imagine. and we're worried about people in foreign countries and we cant even take care of our own.

mac

Thank you for reminding me what I need to do. We all get busy with our lives and forget that other people are in need. I have been in my house for 38+ years and I really need to move some things out of here.

After reading your stories, I think that I will forego the big charity businesses and give to the churches who give to the people on the street. Thanks for the reminder. Bless you all.

patski

How wonderful. I work at cleaning out and passing on. It feels good and helps those who need it

ibex94

Circumstances change and if we're debt ridden, to the streets we must go. Our minds weaken with drugs and alchohol and the lack of addiction/mental health help puts us on the streets, too. Some of the homeless have tried turning to friends, family, churches, volunteer places but the rules that are there conflict with their mental state and so they chose to not continue to be with friends, family, etc. Shame, desire not to inflict anguish on loved ones, low self-esteem, etc., abound in the homeless of the world... It takes a government-sized budget to provide the help needed by the homeless. All we can do as individuals is share whenever possible, treat folks with dignity and respect, and let love shine through your eyes to provide unspoken comfort to folks. It is hard to do when we are scared of strangers and especially when they are down and out of society's norms. In addition, too many of the homeless are mentally ill in the USA and one never knows what may happen with them. Be comforted in knowing that most of the mentally ill only act out with people they know, not strangers. For those of you who have known the anguish of a loved one chosing to be homeless, you know exactly what I mean. I pray none of you ever have to go through homelessness or a relative's homelessness. Walking away is sometimes all that can be done and it is heartbreaking. In the meantime, keep sharing your quilts and love! Quilters have always been generous people. :-)

NikkiLu

What a wonderful thing that you are doing! My town, about 15,000 population, in rural Missouri, has a store simply named "The Free Store" and everything in it is free. Yes, FREE. The churches in town (many) decided there was a great need to help the homeless or very poor. So, most of the churches donate some money every month (I heard it was $25.00 - but not sure) to rent a building and pay for the utilities. The community donates their items - garage sale leftovers, etc. to this "store" and anybody can come in and get the stuff for free. My affluent daughter used to have garage sales, now she takes everything to the Free Store. I became acquainted with a family who were living in their car - with a little help from the Veterans, welfare, etc. they found a little house and was able to "start over" with things from the Free Store. They got used furniture, pots and pans, dishes, sheets, etc. Sadly, they were not able to keep up with their rent and utilities because the father could not keep a job (I think alcohol was his problem) so they left here with whatever they could fit in their car but she had the Free Store to come to her house and take back all of the stuff so that others could use it.

mermaid

My DH and I always grew more veggies in our small garden than we could use, can, or freeze. Most of our neighbor's had/ have gardens, so we put our excess in a box, along with plastic groc bags, and set at the end of our drive with a FREE sign. It was amazing how quickly our box would be emptied. Some days it would be just cukes , or zucchini..but I hope they fed someone. We have not grown a garden for 2 yrs now as my DH is still recovering from a stroke.

quiltingcandy

My parents had 2 pie cherry trees, an Italian prune tree, and 2 apple trees. It was great when we were growing up we would use all the fruit. Then when my sisters and I left home (in 1973) they couldn't use it all and they tried to get someone to come get the fruit and everyone told them to pick it and bring it to them. Then the neighbor lady had a very small orchard across the street (1/3 acre) and she never picked them. So one day she was telling someone at her church how bad she felt about it all going to waste and they offered to come pick the fruit and use it. When my mom saw them she went over and asked it they would want the fruit off her trees too. They were so thrilled to get it. My mom didn't like to can and even if she did, she and my dad would not eat that much canned fruit.