Day 34 - Creat a Sock Drive for the homeless.

One of my future deeds is to serve food at a food bank so I decided to sign up with the Miami Rescue Mission. I got in contact with one of their supervisors and in the process of meeting them I found out about a sock drive they are having.

 

For today’s deed, I decided to create my own “deed of the day” which is to hold a SOCK DRIVE out of my office. The reason behind it is that in the past I have done several local missions with my church, all of them have touched my heart but there was one that touched it the most.
Last year, mid-year I visited an orphanage with my church called FloridaBaptist Children's Home; the mission was to help landscape the property and plant as many plants for them as possible; the orphans that resided there of course had to help us as well. For those of you that know me, you know I am NOT an outdoorsy type of girl so planting plants in the scorching heat on a Saturday morning is not my idea of an amazing weekend. There I was at 10:00am; melting away and having the hardest time ever getting my shovel in the ground. As I looked around, most of the volunteers we're with their families including a male who helped the ladies out and no one appeared to be having a difficult time, in fact they made it seem like it was a piece of cake. I was the only one there volunteering by myself and I was so aggravated that I felt like just walking to my car, getting in and driving away. Then all of a sudden this little boy, who I later found out, was 7 years old, tapped me on the back and told me in a little voice "you’re doing it wrong". I turned around with a puzzled face and he said "let me show you"; he then proceeded to grab my shovel and show me how to plant the small shrub.

We spent the rest of the day together planting the shrubs, laughing and talking. Throughout the day I learned this little boys life story, he was an orphan living at that home, his two sisters (one older and one younger) had been living there as well for going on two years.  Throughout their lives they have been transferred from orphanage to orphanage and got lucky to be placed this last time together. Their mother was a heavy drug user who didn't really care for them, and they also had other siblings that lived in other orphanages. We all had lunch together and they we're so excited to show me their beds and where they slept, they talked to me about school, about friends, about typically everything. In the little time we spent together I learned that they had never had their own room, they had never owned a brand new pair of shoes they we're all hand-me-downs, and the same went with their clothes. They had holes in their shoes and their hair was a mess but I still found them so beautiful. I not only totally fell in love with the boy but I fell in love with all three of them.

The fact that they lived this life, where they didn't have a family, didn't have an actual home and they still had a huge smile on their faces broke my heart. They told me that as long as they still had each other that was all that mattered. At that moment I wished I could have saved them, adopted all three of them and taken them home with me. I could only pray that they have been adopted and if they haven't, when they do, I hope they all go together. One thing that I did learn was to not to take things for granted, little things like new shoes, or socks on my feet, and that’s what brought me to this deed.
For many homeless people, life on the streets is hard on their feet. Many don't have shoes and if they do, there's a big chance they don't have socks. The most basic ways to keep your feet healthy are to keep them warm and dry, I remember my parents always telling me not to walk barefoot around the house because I could get sick. Myth or not, everyone loves to have warm, dry feet. You probably throw away a sock as soon as you find a hole in it without even a second thought, but for many homeless individuals, keeping feet warm with a decent pair of socks is not an option. Through "Operation Warm Feet", you can help.

Providing socks for those in need is a simple gesture that goes a long way. According to Miami Health Care for The Homeless Program "Clean, white socks are a staple of homeless health care. Rain-soaked feet, ill-fitting shoes, constant standing and diseases like diabetes take their toll on the feet of homeless people. Every day MHCHP's nurses and physicians treat a huge range of foot ailments - from trench foot to skin infections, from frostbite to nail diseases."

How many people are homeless? How many can you help by providing the comfort of warm, dry feet? If you are in the Miami area and would like to donate some brand new pairs of socks please let me know and I will collect them. If you would like to start your own "Sock Box" the information is below. For those of you in different areas who would like to make a difference, google "socks for the homeless" in your town or area and I guarantee you will find a program near you.

Remember, no matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind. And a little spark of kindness can put a colossal burst of sunshine into someone's day!♥

Love each other as I have loved you. - John 15:12