November's Official "Warm Winter Wear" Giveaway

For the past month we have been collecting donations from all over! The week of our event we decided to get together to organize and prepare for the big official giveaway. You wouldn't believe what all we received! Ranging from clothing of all sizes for both men and women, hygiene products, snacks, coffee, big warm coats, blankets, scarves, socks, under wear, and gloves. All though we felt overwhelmed with boxes and bags, we we felt grateful and were able to give to so many. After all, that is what this is all about!

Let the organizing begin! 

Below is Mika. 
This man was walking on the sidewalk carrying what little belongings he has. As we pulled over, he first seemed leery of our intentions. But, when we pulled into a parking lot and told him we have somethings for him he walked to the car anxiously. We handed him a box of snacks that included granola bars, crackers, coffee, and hot cocoa. We asked him what size shirt he wears and as we handed him a bag of his size shirts, he thanked us. He is a high spirited man. He was even excited to get his photo taken! He says "I don't care, haha, I tell everyone, I don't care" with a smile on his face. He made us smile! 

Say "hi" to Carol and Kurk! 

They are besties! You may remember Carol from a previous blog. She was the one who lent her only coat out and never got it back. Kurk is also from another blog. These two remembered my name! As, well I remembered theirs. I felt so, well, special that they both remembered me and I really think they did too. They were under a bridge off 635 hanging out together. We all participated in giving them bags of hygiene products, box of snacks, shirts in their sizes, and Kurk a nice big warm coat to snuggle up in at night in the cold. They were so nice and grateful to our giving. We talked to them and even learned their birthdays. August 31st is Carol's and October 5th is Kurk's. We decided that we will pay them a visit on those days! 

Afterwards, we ran into Junior.

 Last time we ran into him, he declined having his picture taken. So, out of respect for him, we didn't want to ask for one today either. We mentioned him on a previous post as well. Unfortunately, he wasn't doing too good today. He said he was very bummed and not feeling very cheerful. He told us his story and mentioned that him and his girlfriend had recently split up. He said that along with being on the streets made him pretty down. We felt humbled giving him snacks, a new coat, some shirts, and hygiene products. He was very grateful and kept saying "God Bless Y'all". He's one of the ones with the lowest spirit out of all the people we've met. We really look forward to hopefully building him up next month for Christmas. Please keep him in your thoughts, guys!

So, what happens next? We all put our heads together and came up with a game plan. 

We were headed to Main Street Garden Park. This is the same area we went to last month. We were anxious to give today especially since we had so much to hand out. We parked the car and as we began to unload the car, we had curious eyes upon us. They were all wondering what we were up to.

We went up to the first group that we saw and it wasn't long before we had lots of people gathering around us needing items for themselves. 

Above we have Tracey and Lawrence. 

They were both very anxious and were excited to be the first to pick out their items from our stash. All though we hope they find a place to go we hope to be able to give to them next month as well. 

Meet William in the photo above. 

William is somebody that we will never forget! He is high spirited and full of love! We gave him a coat to keep warm in, box of snacks, some bags of shirts, and a smile! After we gave him his items, he gave us lots of hugs of appreciation and smiles. We can't wait to see him again in December!  

This man wished his name remain unsaid. He came up to us as we were handing out necessities. He seemed so shy and came up quietly. He thanked us for his items that he received from us and then began to open up to us. He explained that he has a female friend who is in need and lives on the streets. He wanted to get her something nice because she has been teaching him another language. 

Action picture above! If you look close on the building you can read the words "God is Love". We felt it was appropriate for what we're doing! The picture speaks for itself ;)

 Greet yourself to Louise above.

 His shirt is no lie. Louise served in the Army. When he came to what he thought would be home, it was absent. He was left with nothing and on the streets. From there he made a mistake, which then led him to probation. Let me just explain this, Louise's life would have been different if he had not been left on the streets after trying to make a difference in the world. The chain of events that led him to be on probation are unfortunate. When you are dealing with a situation to feeling like their is nobody who cares, how are you supposed to care about yourself too? We have faith him though. He is comical and kept us laughing. He says he hated to call his father to explain to him that he's been living on the streets. His dad was disappointed. But, Louise has belief that in the end everything will work out.

Above and left to right are Alonzo and Charles.

 Alonzo- This man touched my heart majorly. I promise you, we will find him in December and make sure he has a present to unwrap! When we gave to him he was so selfless. I held up boxers and didn't have enough. Once he noticed that not everyone would not receive boxers he put his hand out of reach so that his friends could have a chance before him. We handed him a bag of hygiene products and he went through the bag and handed his items to others in need. This photo was taken right after he got through handing something to Charles. At the end of us giving to this group, I handed him the bag that you see on his lap. I came up to him, bent down to his level so that I wouldn't be hovering over him and said "Alonzo, do you like this bag?". His eyes lit up! He said "yes I do". I said "It's yours, my friend" and he graciously said "I don't know how, but for some reason I just knew I would end up with this bag". It's a nice BARELY used bag with lots of pockets. When we got ready to leave, he came up to me and gave me an electronic that I left in it! I looked into that man's eyes and said "thank you for your honesty, I appreciate that". He could have pawned it! And being in that situation, maybe some would. But, Alonzo, nah. He's just a good hearted man. 

Charles- Sweet man, but very quiet. We chit chatted a little while he puffed on his Marlboro I handed to him. He also received hygiene products, a blanket, and some shirts. Charles says "this park is my hang out and these are my friends"

Another action picture above! This is Amber, my miles of smiles buddy and Rudy, one of the men we gave to. Rudy decided to walk with us and help take a heavy burden off of us. 

Remember Angie?

 Here we are with her! She is in a previous post as well. Let me refresh your memory a little. Angie has been homeless for about a month now. She is a victim of domestic violence and because of this unfortunate situation, she ended up homeless. She was so excited that we remembered her name. She kept telling her buddies over there that we all met last month. We LOVE Angie! She is so sweet. We made sure she had enough clothes, hygiene products, snacks, coffee, and high heels. This will help her to succeed her goals. 

Above from left to right is Charlie and Jay. 

These men couldn't get enough Folder's Coffee that we were handing out! They made us smile. They seemed to be the best of friends, these two. What we enjoyed was when we walked off, I turned around and saw them opening up their bags of clothes that we gave them and pointed it out to Amber and her mom. They were holding up the nice warm shirts and smiling. We can't wait to get to hear their stories once they feel like opening up to us.  

Claude is above. 

At first he really didn't want to participate in the giving. But, after a little while he saw that we didn't mean him any harm. He then started to slowly ask for stuff and talk. By the end of the day, he was talking, joking, and laughing with us. He has a lot character! 

Say "hello" to Jeremy above!

 Look at that smile! We feel so happy to be a part of the reason for it. We saw him a few times this event. We gave him snacks, shirts, coat, coffee, and hygiene products. He kept thanking us. When we saw him again we were putting boxes into the car to move to another location. He saw our struggle and came to help us. We ended up giving him a warm snuggie blanket that he said he would use. It was pink and he was all about it! Ha! Jeremy seems high spirited!

Above is Linda and Odell. 

These two explained to us that they just met that day and already know that they are best friends. Both of them kept smiling. Which in return, made us smile. We gave them clothes and snacks for the day. They were certainly grateful. We hope to hear their stories next time! 

Marvin is above.

 He was in the group with Rudy, Charles, Alonzo, and Claude. He's a little shy, but won us over with his picture perfect smile! We had fun conversing with him and sharing stories with the group. 

Above and to the left wished his name remain unsaid. On the right is Rudy.

 John Doe- Gracious of our giving. He just wanted something to keep his hands and feet warm at night. He's not smiling in the picture but I promise you, we will build him up and make him smile! Rudy- He literally fought in the military, served our country and is now on the streets. Does not seem fair right? Even though he has had many negative events, he still manages to rise above and smile through it all. He spoke to us the entire time like we were all old friends. I don't think he meets a stranger! We enjoy hearing his story and can't wait to hear more and tell you more! 

Meet Ted above.

 Ted is a major sweet heart! We gave him some clothes to keep warm in, a bag of snacks and coffee, and nice barely worn pants. We can't wait to give to him again and see that smile! 

This is Keven above-

 A real character! He had us laughing and talking the entire conversation! Not a dull moment with Keven. Keven says he wants to help us do the hand out next month because he likes to give to others too. 

Last action picture is above! This is a photo that Amber took of her mom (Cheryl) and I giving to one as another walked off that we just gave too. Edited by SBF Photography to give it even more of an artistic look and message. 

We gave to MANY more but did not get pictures of everyone. Everyone that we gave to had their own way of touching our hearts and making us smile.

We are still selling $1 raffle tickets. You could be one of ten winners on December 1st. You will also be helping our cause! ALL of the money will go to buying Christmas presents for the homeless. We will be passing them out and taking photos. 

Pay on PAYPAL to sbfriedman05@gmail.com