I have decided to do a charity walk. It's my first one. I HATE asking for money. In fact I hate asking for help even when I need it. . . . but that's another story. The fact that I had so much trouble with the asking for money thing made me think about those people we help at my various outreaches. I mean for some of them it's no problem at all to stand on the corner and beg for money or to come up to any outreach and take as much as they can (for some people it's a game, I have heard of one guy bragging that he got six free turkeys for Thanksgiving). But for others, you can see the broken spirit it induces, the humbleness that's been thrust upon them and the de-humanization it can bring on. They're usually the ones who will quietly take you aside and ask if you have socks or who hold back for a bit before they get up the nerve to step in line for a cup of coffee.
I guess today's action of sending out a "begging" email has made me even more aware of how careful we have to be to make our outreach a comfortable, natural, hey let's have a random gathering among friends sort of thing. I don't know how to explain it. I suppose the gist of this is, my letter today really made me think.
Also, (since I've already begged once today) if you're interested in supporting me you can look at my walk website: http://www.projectbread.org/site/TR?px=1237382&pg=personal&fr_id=1070&et=isKE1nMGKUJ7Ew1aDpzSOA..&s_tafId=7720
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I logged on to support you and your goal had already been met! Way to go! My mom is walking for breast cancer in October and I'm walking for leukemia in September, so maybe I'll send out a begging email of my own ;) No, I can relate to what you're saying. Its similar at the food pantry where I work--some people seem to thrive in getting as much free stuff as they can and for others it is very dehuminizing and despiriting.
Post a Comment