Well, my day began with a phone call I was nervous to make. You see, I had become acquainted with a woman named Faye through a prayer group at the church my family and I attend. Faye is an extraordinary woman who literally lives out of her car and ministers to homeless men and women around Charlotte. She has chosen to become like them in order to love them more thoroughly and passionately. She is also a very prayerful woman who loves people and feels uniquely convicted to pray for them individually. She was the person I had in mind to give these coats to when I started this week’s adventure. However, I was unsure of my ability to reach her, considering the facts of her life. She has a cell phone, but it isn’t always turned on or in service. This morning, I called Faye to tell her of the coats I had for her friends. Faye’s line was out of service. I was simultaneously worried for Faye and also wondering what to do with this large pile of coats I now owned.
As I mentioned before, they are freshly washed and sweet and snuggly…ready for a new owner. I was now in search of a new way to get these coats to their rightful owners. As I was cleaning up my office I came across a list of service organizations that I had looked into serving with–and on that list was the Salvation Army Center of Hope. I immediately called to see if they were in need and they said, “Are you kidding me?! Have you felt how cold it is outside?!”. Not really, but they did express an ongoing need for winter coats.
So, the boys and I piled our coats into the car and began heading uptown to the Center of Hope. Phew, those took up half of the front seat of my little Honda
Civic–there was barely room for me to drive! But, I think that warmth
is in direct proportion to bulk…so, I think that’s a good sign.
:)
When we arrived at the Center of Hope, my oldest son was quick to ask if there would be buddies to play with. I told him I was unsure, but we could certainly see. First, though, we had to take the coats to the donation area. Some young women from the Junior League of Charlotte helped the boys and I haul our coats into the building, which kind of resembled a mix between a middle school and a college dorm.
Once inside, a woman quickly took our bounty of warmth–and within seconds (before the below picture was even snapped) there were women shopping those coats like they had a Prada label on them. The young women were holding them up to each other and eyeballing the approximate warmth and style of each item. The coats were gone to proud new owners before we left the donation room…which made my heart both swell and break at the same time. How can something as simple as a coat be so precious to some and just an afterthought to others like myself?
My oldest asked the donation intake lady in the picture above where the other kids were. And she kindly pointed to a bunch of little ones waiting for the mom’s to finish lunch in the cafeteria. Those 2 and 3 year olds were looking at books that were more appropriate for junior high kids–all words, no pictures. But, they were quick to share with my little dude, who had no problem pretending to read right along with them. He made some new pals, pictured below.
The kids continued to read together and challenged each other to running races as the little boy’s mother Charity* (not her real name) and I talked about normal “mom” things. We talked about her son’s slight speech delay and about how people mistake my boys for twins regularly. It actually seemed like every other playdate I’ve ever been on–except we were sitting in the middle of a homeless shelter cafeteria.
The most important thing for me on this mission was that the people who received the coats would know that they are loved. Since we couldn’t give them out to individuals as I had hoped, I wrote a small message and put one in a pocket of each coat.
It doesn’t get more basic than the need for shelter, warmth, and love.
