Pajamas

Yesterday I was shopping for a cause!

I met many of my fellow Realtors and mortgage folks at WalMart at 7:30 AM, with a thermos of coffee of course.  As in passed years we were there to shop for clothes, shoes, coats, and toys for needy families in our community. This shopping venture was funded by a huge fundraising event last month.

I paired up with my friend Joey and we shopped for a family with 6 kids: two age 16, two age 10, one age 3, and one age 1.  (I can only assume there are 2 sets of twins.)  The brief family profile indicated that the grandmother was granted custody of the children to prevent them from being split up in the foster care system.  "They arrived with just the clothes on their backs" the profile read.  I felt a deep pain in my soul and stopped reading.  God only knows what these kids have been through.  I needn't know the details, I just needed to shop as smartly as possible to get them as much as I could.

We were given the kids' clothing sizes, shoe sizes, and favorite colors to help inform our selections.  We're also given a budget for each kid.  In past years some of the kids asked for specific toys ie: Legos, Barbie doll, etc which is fine.  All 6 of these children asked for pajamas. 

Pajamas!

3 of them asked for coats.

Sigh.

The older kids listed some hobbies (ie: drawing, building things, etc) which we used to pick out things for them.  We did our best to get them pajamas and as many coats, shoes, clothes and toys as possible by stretching the dollars allotted.  It was fun too!

This activity is a vivid reminder of just how 'good' we have it, and gives me extra incentive to find ways to give back to my community.  Food drives, Toys for Tots, and gift cards are both easy and impactful. 

Later this month I'll be sending an end-of-year mailing to more than 150 clients with whom I've worked over the years.  I've decided to include in the mailing an encouragement to give back to the local community in whatever way they feel comfortable.  A little effort and cost to us can make a huge difference in the lives of those less fortunate.