One of my older brothers has a giving heart, it is one of his Spiritual Gifts. He is always giving to others and has a very loving heart. It is one of the best things about him. This year, instead of asking for gifts for his birthday he is asking for money to put towards what he has come to call "Helping the Homeless in Windsor, Ont". He does not want any gifts for himself, instead he wants to put together 5 bags for homeless people in his home town. He has put a lot of thought into what will go into such a bag, and came up with some things that could potentially save lives. Items such as coats, balaclava's, mittens, food, gift cards to restaurants, burners, canteens and much more. His original idea was to fill 5 backpacks that are each worth about $250.
In the 38 days that he has been asking for donations instead of birthday gifts he has gotten over double his original goal, raising over $3000! He has been documenting this journey on Facebook and has had people donating to him that he has never even met!
Tonight he posted the following to his Facebook page:
"PREFACE: This is going to be a long post.. haha
Up until this point this project of Helping the Homeless in Windsor, ON has been a lot of emails, texts, calls, Facebook statuses, and a ton of encouraging words from family and friends. I have not had to do a lot. I have felt great about the project, but to be honest I have not been too crazy "excited" or, as I like to say, "pumped".
That is, until yesterday.
For the past two days I have had the lucky opportunity to spend some of the money that you guys have donated. And let me tell you. It is one of the best feelings in the world. Eight of this, 32 of that, 48 of this, the list goes on. I absolutely love picking out the items, seeing how many there are, and simply taking out $200 to pay for it.
Today, and yesterday, I spent a total of $1089.11. What did I spend it on, you may ask? Well, let me tell you. There is:
- 8 first aid kits
- 2 toothbrushes, 3 tubes of toothpaste, 22 toothbrush holders
- 4 sticks of women's deodorant, 4 sticks of mens deodorant
- 8 tubes of Blistex (lets be real, no one likes cracked lips
- 8 Mars Bars
- 20 fruits cups
- 32 Clif Bars
- 54 Cans of soup
- 8 can openers
- 8 utensil kits
- 4 medium inner jackets, 4 large inner jackets
- 8 balaclavas
- 9 pairs of socks (23 pairs on the way!)
- 4 back-packs (4 to come!)
- 16 heat pads
(see two pictures!)
So, yeah. HOLY SMOKES. I still have over $2000.00. I ordered the
remainder of the items from the Army Surplus store, and will be picking
them up in the next two weeks (if someone wants to come with me, to be a
part of the experience just let me know!).
This experience has been nothing but beautiful. I have taken so much joy from this, and know it will continue to come. Thank you so much to everyone, for everything you have done. I may have had a cool idea, but YOU are the ones that made it happen.
Because I volunteer at the House Youth Centre (you House of Shalomies out there will understand), I feel the need to attach this experience to a song. And, every time I go to type a message, or a Facebook status, or am on my way to buy the items, I play this song. It is "Who Do You Love" by Marianas Trench. Over and over. It is so beautiful, and speaks about exactly what we are doing with this project on Helping the Homeless in Windsor, ON. One line sticks out more then others, and I think it is relevant to this situation. The song says, "When I get back on my feet, I'll blow this open wide and carry me home in good health". I believe that is what these backpacks have the potential of doing. They have the potential to get someone back on their feet. To help that homeless individual to understand and realize that within Windsor, reaching as far as Ottawa, there are people who wish the best for them and have taken that one step further by giving money, time, and efforts to support them. What if that is all it takes to turn their ENTIRE world around? What if ONE person who receives one of these backpacks is down and out. They have given up. And then someone presents them with this backpack, and they say, "now is my time, its time to take care of myself, get out of this situation, to blow this open wide and carry myself home". Who do we love? The homeless.
So again, thank you guys. Thank you so much.
We ARE changing the world we live in. We ARE the difference that is the difference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_CbClV_eTU
( here is a link to the song I am talking about!)"
The response he has gotten has astounded everyone. It is truly amazing the impact one idea can have. He is changing lives, and not just those of the homeless in Windsor, but the lives of those who have given to this idea. Many people have given monetary gifts, while so many more have given encouragement, prayers and spread the word on this idea. The post above really spoke to me tonight. Up till now I have supported and encouraged my brother in this idea, but tonight I really see the good that he is doing and it brought tears to my eyes. How can one man have such a big heart. He is the good that many people want to see in the world. (We have our days, but what siblings don't? over-all he is an amazing brother).
If you think this is interesting and want to learn more, find Micah Vander Vaart on fb and give him a shout via messenger. He'll answer any questions you have. If you have no interest in this what-so-ever and just read this blog post, then I hope that it has helped you believe that there are still people in this world who want to change things; and that they are doing so!
Have a great evening everyone, and remember to be the change you want to see in this world!
This experience has been nothing but beautiful. I have taken so much joy from this, and know it will continue to come. Thank you so much to everyone, for everything you have done. I may have had a cool idea, but YOU are the ones that made it happen.
Because I volunteer at the House Youth Centre (you House of Shalomies out there will understand), I feel the need to attach this experience to a song. And, every time I go to type a message, or a Facebook status, or am on my way to buy the items, I play this song. It is "Who Do You Love" by Marianas Trench. Over and over. It is so beautiful, and speaks about exactly what we are doing with this project on Helping the Homeless in Windsor, ON. One line sticks out more then others, and I think it is relevant to this situation. The song says, "When I get back on my feet, I'll blow this open wide and carry me home in good health". I believe that is what these backpacks have the potential of doing. They have the potential to get someone back on their feet. To help that homeless individual to understand and realize that within Windsor, reaching as far as Ottawa, there are people who wish the best for them and have taken that one step further by giving money, time, and efforts to support them. What if that is all it takes to turn their ENTIRE world around? What if ONE person who receives one of these backpacks is down and out. They have given up. And then someone presents them with this backpack, and they say, "now is my time, its time to take care of myself, get out of this situation, to blow this open wide and carry myself home". Who do we love? The homeless.
So again, thank you guys. Thank you so much.
We ARE changing the world we live in. We ARE the difference that is the difference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_CbClV_eTU
( here is a link to the song I am talking about!)"
The response he has gotten has astounded everyone. It is truly amazing the impact one idea can have. He is changing lives, and not just those of the homeless in Windsor, but the lives of those who have given to this idea. Many people have given monetary gifts, while so many more have given encouragement, prayers and spread the word on this idea. The post above really spoke to me tonight. Up till now I have supported and encouraged my brother in this idea, but tonight I really see the good that he is doing and it brought tears to my eyes. How can one man have such a big heart. He is the good that many people want to see in the world. (We have our days, but what siblings don't? over-all he is an amazing brother).
If you think this is interesting and want to learn more, find Micah Vander Vaart on fb and give him a shout via messenger. He'll answer any questions you have. If you have no interest in this what-so-ever and just read this blog post, then I hope that it has helped you believe that there are still people in this world who want to change things; and that they are doing so!
Have a great evening everyone, and remember to be the change you want to see in this world!
