Give on Service Thursday

It’s Service Thursday again.

Yesterday, your challenge was to think about and identify someone in your neighborhood who is enduring some sort of hardship.

(If you missed yesterday’s post, please follow this link): http://serviceafol.blogspot.com/2008/10/your-neighborhood.html

Today, I’d like to follow up on that.

What did you find?

Did you find someone in need?

If you did, have you considered how you can help them?

Do they need you to go to the store for them?

Do they need food?

Do they need resources above what you can help with? (If this is true, try calling 2-1-1 and you should be able to find resources to help them).

For today’s challenge, can you gather a box of food for them? We all need food, even if we’re struggling with other hardships.

Or, you can make it a care package with a mix of food and non-food items.

It doesn’t have to be a big box. It can be a regular sized grocery box, or even a shoebox if that’s all you can manage to collect for them.

The idea here is not to give so much food that it puts you in a hardship, too. The idea is to share what you have – even if it’s just a gallon of milk and a box of crackers.

You also don’t have to do this alone. Call a friend or relative to help you.

And, when you deliver it, you can do so anonymously, if you like.

Or, you can greet them at the door and offer to help put the food away for them.

You can even offer to cook! (But again, remember to allow them their dignity. Feel the situation out so you’re not making them feel like a service project. You want them to feel better for knowing who you are, not worse).

Here are some foodstuffs that work well for situations like these:

Peanut butter
Canned tunafish
Crackers
Milk
Canned milk
Fresh fruit
Canned fruit and vegetables
Tortillas
Bread
Margarine
Lunchmeat
Baby food
Cookies
Fruit juice

Non food needs (These things you can take over in a laundry basket):

Diapers
Toothpaste
Soap
Paper towels
Towels
Laundry detergent
Dish detergent
Paper plates
Plastic utensils
A 3x5 card with your name and phone number
If they have children, you can throw in a coloring book and crayons


Use your imagination for other ideas. Have fun with it!

But do it.
Today.
Someone may be hungry and waiting for you.

Thank you for reading and taking today’s challenge.

As always, please pass it on. Stumble this. Digg this. Retweet and repost this and link back to it.

I appreciate you!

Remember, Service is the Action Form of Love!

James