Blessing the Homeless One Bundle at a Time

Two years ago, my fiancé, Cody, and I were inspired to help the less fortunate individuals in our Pensacola, FL community. We thought long and hard about what we could do to start our own family tradition of making a difference. We brainstormed and finally had an idea that we felt motivated to achieve. We decided to distribute blankets and jackets to the homeless. This Thanksgiving marked the second year of our tradition! We have been beyond blessed by the support that we have received from our friends and families. However, beginning this tradition, we were met with one major obstacle. That is, how were a young apprentice and junior in college supposed to afford this mission?

We searched through our closets for jackets, hoodies, and blankets that we did not need. After realizing that our collection was rather small, consisting of only a few items, we decided that we would need to expand our search. Our first instinct was to go to a local store to purchase blankets and jackets. However, we then had a better idea; we decided to reach out to all of our friends and family members to collect jackets and blankets. Thanksgiving morning, we counted all of our gatherings and found that we had reached a grand total of 20 blankets and jackets. We thought that number was fantastic! We prepared sack lunches and drove around town handing out these items to homeless individuals until every last one of the items was gone. This Thanksgiving, we were able to collect twice as much as we collected the year before. Some individuals also gave us children's blankets and coats for us to donate to a local shelter that helps homeless families.

We were amazed by the turnout and realized that, with persistence, we can increase the impact of this tradition each year; thus, we will continue to collect jackets and blankets by reaching out to our families and friends via social media and word of mouth. Additionally, we hope to expand our collections to items such as unused toothbrushes, socks, etc. My purpose in telling you this is to show how easy helping the homeless and less fortunate in your community can be. You do not have to be rich in money or resources, and the littlest of things can make the biggest difference. Our mission started with just an idea and has blossomed into a yearly tradition. If you are pressed for time, even donating canned goods to your local food bank can have a significant impact on a family that cannot afford a meal. Furthermore, if you decide to start your own mission, like the one that Cody and I do, please make sure that you exercise caution. For instance, Cody and I remain in our vehicles, travel in groups, and provide our tentative route to our families, updating them on our progress along the way.

We are blessed to be able to give back and to see the impact that our tradition has on the individuals whom we are able to help, and I hope that this article inspires others to give back to their communities as well.