Boots & Coats for the homeless?

Hey guys,

I have a coupon for the web site Sierra Trading Post that would allow me to purchase some winter boots, or coats that we can hand out to the homeless and less fortunate that we have been visiting in Detroit. The cost would be about $21.45 per item, but if anyone would like to donate the $20 I will pay for the shipping and the extra $1 and some change. This coupon expires on Nov. 30th. Please don't feel obligated, if you can donate, great. If not, no big deal. Please let me know as soon as possible if you want to pitch in on this small boot/coat drive. I sent four pair of boots with Robin (my wife) this passed weekend, they went very fast, and people were coming up to the table asking if there were any more boots? The snow and cold are just around the corner, dry, warm feet will make it a little more comfortable for these folks.

Thanks guys, I look forward to hearing from you!

I attached a photo of the boots & coats for your review...

Hey Now!
First I want to Thank each and everyone of you for your time your donations your prayers and enthusiasm.
Last Sundays serving mission was a huge success. The feed back was tremendous. I am going to share with you the comments because they are so inspirational. For some of you on the hospitality team this is a repeat. But for everyone else this is the first time you have had a chance to read them.

It was such a humbling experience, it's difficult to explain all the thoughts and feelings I'm sure we all felt. What blessed lives we get to live. For me, it was a wake up call to appreciate all that He has given me. Thanks Eileen and Dave for organizing this. I hope we get to do it again real soon. Also, because I was out of town for the last meeting, it was great to meet a lot of the team.
Cecilia...aka Chi Chi

Ditto Ditto,
I was trying to think what was better, the serving end of our journey or the words that those wonderful teenagers spoke in the car on the ride home. I asked Gabby and Katrina what they thought . Gabby said how sad it was to look into the face of a stranger and be able to feel there pain and Katrina cant wait to do it again. This was the best way to spend a sunny Sunday in my book! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this.
And a special thanks to the many , many members of the Troy Hospitality team that came out to help. I loved seeing each of you and I believe once the word gets out about today we will have many more that will help next time. Thanks
Vallery

What a GREAT day!!! :))
A huge thanks to all those of you who put together this very worthwhile endeavor, and to those beautiful God followers who jumped right in and served the homeless representing the love of Jesus, including the wonderful teens and kids! A special thanks to them!
I was on Team #2 today with our great leader Scott and he was quite an inspiration.
He showed the face of Jesus in his example and in his service and leadership, as did every single member of our team! And I know this was the same case with our other loving and serving team led by Eileen!! What an honor this truly was - being the actual hands and face of Jesus serving food to the individuals of the inner city, as they are His beloved children also!
I hope that this ministry to the homeless can continue in whatever wise way our leaders feel appropriate under God's loving guidance.
Love, Judy

WOW! Pretty cool eh?
I know we didn't serve as many at the Yorba Hotel that we had hoped to and Scot and I knew going in that sometimes on Sunday someone does show up to serve breakfast there. We thought we would take the chance. This was the first time we set up with two teams and a 2nd location with good numbers of patrons we are working on. We have a couple more areas to look into. I promise we will get it right.
As you could see there is a big demand for warm clothing. Most of the patrons are male. there are a few women. No children. Keep that in mind when collecting clothing. We know their is a need for children's clothes somewhere but not at these present locations. There is a need for bags, back packs luggage any thing to carry their stuff in. Tooth brushes ,socks and boots.

We would like to get set up to do this on a regular scheduled basis and Scot is working on those details.
Once we have a calendar in place with a schedule it will become more permanent.
We can always use donations of water, chips, paper products, plastic ware, toilette paper, and cash.

This is a very basic grass roots serving mission that is funded by all of us. Here is the breakdown for Last Sunday.
Gordon Foods $81.00
Value center $131.00
total $212.00
Now this does not include all of the donated fruit, water, buns, chips, venison ( yes there was some deer meat mixed in ) candy, paper products, cookies, and pop. We received donations of $200.00 which covered our cash expenses. Amen. Thanks to the FAST team all donations can now be deductible. If you care to make a donation, make your check out to Kensington Church and put FAST on the memo line. We keep a spread sheet of all donations and we can get you a receipt for your taxes. If you would like to turn in a receipt for food we can get you a receipt for that deduction as well.

One final note. Their are many different forms and levels of homelessness and poverty. Not everyone is living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass. Some people do have the ability to get a small amount of money that they get from social security and other Govt. agencies. Some actually work a little when they can, some panhandle, collect bottles or whatever they can do to earn some money. Some are able to pay for a room. Trust me, if you saw what these rooms look like, it would make you cry. We even have had people pull up in cars they are living in. The reasons for their poverty is many and not for me to judge. The bottom line is we are no better than they are in the eyes of our Lord. We are all equal. In fact the real truth is we have been commissioned by God, and he is very clear, that it is our responsibility to serve and take care of any and all who are in need. More often than not, God works thru others, we are to be his hands and feet.
As soon as we get a schedule, (all of you are on our bulk FTH email list), we will get the info out.

Thanks again to all of you and God Bless
Dave

Replies

Chris Sarsfield November 3, 2010 at 1:14pm

What are we doing with the FAST $$$? I'd like to see the money we work hard raising getting put to use for things like this. Plus, working with a manufacturer willing to donate to FAST or KCC would get a tax deduction so maybe we can get more coats for less. Just my two cents.
Dave (Gator) Krauskoff November 3, 2010 at 1:09pm

Hey Now!
First I want to Thank each and everyone of you for your time your donations your prayers and enthusiasm.
Last Sundays serving mission was a huge success. The feed back was tremendous. I am going to share with you the comments because they are so inspirational. For some of you on the hospitality team this is a repeat. But for everyone else this is the first time you have had a chance to read them.

It was such a humbling experience, it's difficult to explain all the thoughts and feelings I'm sure we all felt. What blessed lives we get to live. For me, it was a wake up call to appreciate all that He has given me. Thanks Eileen and Dave for organizing this. I hope we get to do it again real soon. Also, because I was out of town for the last meeting, it was great to meet a lot of the team.
Cecilia...aka Chi Chi

Ditto Ditto,
I was trying to think what was better, the serving end of our journey or the words that those wonderful teenagers spoke in the car on the ride home. I asked Gabby and Katrina what they thought . Gabby said how sad it was to look into the face of a stranger and be able to feel there pain and Katrina cant wait to do it again. This was the best way to spend a sunny Sunday in my book! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this.
And a special thanks to the many , many members of the Troy Hospitality team that came out to help. I loved seeing each of you and I believe once the word gets out about today we will have many more that will help next time. Thanks
Vallery

What a GREAT day!!! :))
A huge thanks to all those of you who put together this very worthwhile endeavor, and to those beautiful God followers who jumped right in and served the homeless representing the love of Jesus, including the wonderful teens and kids! A special thanks to them!
I was on Team #2 today with our great leader Scott and he was quite an inspiration.
He showed the face of Jesus in his example and in his service and leadership, as did every single member of our team! And I know this was the same case with our other loving and serving team led by Eileen!! What an honor this truly was - being the actual hands and face of Jesus serving food to the individuals of the inner city, as they are His beloved children also!
I hope that this ministry to the homeless can continue in whatever wise way our leaders feel appropriate under God's loving guidance.
Love, Judy

WOW! Pretty cool eh?
I know we didn't serve as many at the Yorba Hotel that we had hoped to and Scot and I knew going in that sometimes on Sunday someone does show up to serve breakfast there. We thought we would take the chance. This was the first time we set up with two teams and a 2nd location with good numbers of patrons we are working on. We have a couple more areas to look into. I promise we will get it right.
As you could see there is a big demand for warm clothing. Most of the patrons are male. there are a few women. No children. Keep that in mind when collecting clothing. We know their is a need for children's clothes somewhere but not at these present locations. There is a need for bags, back packs luggage any thing to carry their stuff in. Tooth brushes ,socks and boots.

We would like to get set up to do this on a regular scheduled basis and Scot is working on those details.
Once we have a calendar in place with a schedule it will become more permanent.
We can always use donations of water, chips, paper products, plastic ware, toilette paper, and cash.

This is a very basic grass roots serving mission that is funded by all of us. Here is the breakdown for Last Sunday.
Gordon Foods $81.00
Value center $131.00
total $212.00
Now this does not include all of the donated fruit, water, buns, chips, venison ( yes there was some deer meat mixed in ) candy, paper products, cookies, and pop. We received donations of $200.00 which covered our cash expenses. Amen. Thanks to the FAST team all donations can now be deductible. If you care to make a donation, make your check out to Kensington Church and put FAST on the memo line. We keep a spread sheet of all donations and we can get you a receipt for your taxes. If you would like to turn in a receipt for food we can get you a receipt for that deduction as well.

One final note. Their are many different forms and levels of homelessness and poverty. Not everyone is living in a cardboard box under a freeway overpass. Some people do have the ability to get a small amount of money that they get from social security and other Govt. agencies. Some actually work a little when they can, some panhandle, collect bottles or whatever they can do to earn some money. Some are able to pay for a room. Trust me, if you saw what these rooms look like, it would make you cry. We even have had people pull up in cars they are living in. The reasons for their poverty is many and not for me to judge. The bottom line is we are no better than they are in the eyes of our Lord. We are all equal. In fact the real truth is we have been commissioned by God, and he is very clear, that it is our responsibility to serve and take care of any and all who are in need. More often than not, God works thru others, we are to be his hands and feet.
As soon as we get a schedule, (all of you are on our bulk FTH email list), we will get the info out.

Thanks again to all of you and God Bless
Dave
Matt Dahmer November 3, 2010 at 9:05am

Jim, you can put me down to cover a pair weather we order them or find someone to go shopping at the Salvation Army.

Great Work !
Steve Buchan November 2, 2010 at 11:59am

Make donation checks out to Kensington Community Church, memo line FAST-boots. This way your contribution will be tax deductable.

This reply was deleted.