The past 2 weeks were a life-changing experience for me. I went into it with the hopes of learning how to best help the people our company cares about, but came out with much more. I've spent the past two days trying to organize my thoughts about everything that is happening--this has been a struggle in of itself. From a business side of things, Shelby and I will be working on a few changes:
(1) We will NOT be simply 'check writers,' I want to start with some of the things that you and I take for granted on a day to day basis. When you are homeless, positive progress becomes exponentially difficult because of the 'simple things.' Imagine having to walk 10 minutes to get a sip of water or to use the restroom. Or what about having to duck underneath an awning for 2 hours to wait out the rain--because if you don't, you will be soaked without any way to dry your clothes and nothing to change into. As we begin preparation for growth as a business, these are some of the 'small' things we want to begin to address directly. We can wholesale ponchos for 50 cents! Light bulb on.
(2) I learned the opinions of local NPO's directly from the mouths of those they serve. I will not go into detail about this, but this changed a lot of my thought processes. Invaluable feedback.
(3) About halfway through my experience, I called Shelby to let him know that we were going to do things a bit different. He later referred to it as 'Business as UNusual.' (Something I doubt he coined, but perfect none-the-less!) This was part of the inspiration between our new "Voices Unheard" Collection. We are going to be bridging the gap between ourselves and the homeless community. One thing I learned was that while, YES, oftentimes a homeless person will ask you for money, but likewise they are remarkably willing to talk and sometimes even have the desire for in depth conversation. They have feelings and ignoring someone in any societal circle can hurt--they are no different. Serving people a plate of food will always be great, but creating relationships and treating someone as you would treat your friends or family can make a much longer-lasting impact than a full belly. Our culture will be centered around setting the example for our customers and partners--the gap doesn't have to exist in its current state.
On a personal side:
WOW. This has changed my life. I've already shared many of my observations and opinions in previous blogs so I'll leave it at this for now:
Be cautious of separating yourself from others when you do not know the entire story. Every single person God has ever created has a different story, but what we often forget is all these stories are just lines in THE STORY. We have ALL been invited to play a role. Listen to the Director.
One last funny note!!! I celebrated reaching our goal with Brother Steve, while playing pool he cracked myself and the owner of the bar up so hard!!! Watch what he had to say!
Me--"Tell me one good thing about being homeless."
Bro. Steve "Well, nobody ever asks me for jumper cables!"
I'll be blogging about once per week now and still going out to spend time in the homeless community on a regular basis! Love you guys and thank's for the support!
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