Helping the homeless...

So this post is a little belated but one that shouldn't be skipped so here goes...for the past 6 months or so I have been a committee chair for the Homeless Outreach Event...an event that occurs every 2 years to provide a one day array of services to the local homeless population. I wouldn't say that I have always had a passion for the homeless...not that I didn't care...more that I was unaware of the stats and not involved in any sort of outreach. One of my customers who is the director of a local non-profit and a huge advocate for the homeless encouraged me to get involved and so I did. It was a lot of work and preparation, but worth it all. My committee was in charge of blanket and clothing donations...we basically set up a free garage sale for the homeless to look through and take whatever items they may need. Most of the donations came from the employees of the bank that I work at...we were OVERWHELMED with donations which was great. The event took place on the morning of the day Ike would make its way through Arkansas, but we were spared rain during the event which was great. We did shut down a little earlier than anticipated but we served approximately 1,200 homeless and it was a great success. Some of the services that were offered to them were haircuts, clothing, blankets, 2 hot meals, eye exams, dental exams, Veterans entitlement, legal counseling, job placement, IRS stimulus checks, and many many more. Unfortunately the largest percentage of the homeless population are Veterans...that is truly sad. I know not everyone understands or agrees with the war, but fortunately today most Americans support our troops either way. Back in the Vietnam days, this was not the case and now we have many Veterans who have never made their way back into society and many that suffer mental disabilities. This was not a glamorous event by any means, but one that truly reached out to people who were so grateful for a pair of old sneakers because the ones they were wearing were two sizes too small. I was honored to be a part of it. Here are some pics from the event...

Here are the homeless so eager to get in...

Here are just some of the racks of clothing...

Here is the event in full force...

Here's my Private Banking peeps...me, Sue, and Ryan and his wife Lizzy

My father-in-law Frank conducted eye exams and brought a great team from his office...