Worthwhile

Visited a homeless community in Detroit with some girlfriends early this morning. Which basically means that we all meet up at an intersection where the homeless community hang out (typically near a temporary housing shelte), haul our lunches onto an open space on the ground, and hand the lunches to people who come up to us.

It can take hours, or minutes. It all depends on how many lunches you bring, and how many visitors you get. So it works better with a team. More stuff to distribute. But it is always rewarding. If you're lucky, you get to meet some really cool people.

The last time we did this, one of our visitors asked about hygiene items. Most of the ladies still did lunch bags today, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I begged a few to do toiletry bags instead. I think passing out personal hygiene items isn't as "cool" as passing out food. Little did I realize, toiletry stuff is also more expensive. Yeesh.

I packed:
 

* toilet tissue

* bar of soap
* hand sanitizer
* wet wipes
* comb
* tooth brush
* tooth paste
* shaving cream (men's bags)
* razor (men's bags)
* maxi pads (women's bags)
* Hershey's bar (women's bags)

* $5 local supermarket gift card

Out of everything we distributed today, the rolls of toilet paper were the big hit.  I hadn't considered how necessary and important toilet paper is to every human. One of those things you don't think about.

You should try this sometime. It's easier to plan than it seems. Contact your friends, decide what to pack and when/where to meet, pass out the bags. Really simple. And it's an easy way to remind yourself that, even when we're struggling, we still have something to give.

Give it a try. Email me if you need advice, or help getting started. I'll be in Japan next week. Not the big move, just a previously scheduled visit. I should go to the gym, but I'm exhausted. Slept really bad last night. Headed to bed.