Red Cross Didn't Help, We Did.

Imagine this:
You travel a day's drive from home to another town for a job interview - which you get. Excitedly, you and your family start perusing the surrounding area for housing prospects. Then your wallet with all of your credit cards and all of your cash is stolen. You and your wife contact the police followed by the credit card companies. Don't worry they say. The credit card companies will have replacement cards to your house in no time! Then the reality hits. How do you get the two tanks of gas you need so you can get home? What about food? Even worse, what if the baby needs something?

This was reality for the gentleman visiting our office today. Desperate and upset he turned to the Red Cross for help. They didn't. The church across the street from the Red Cross didn't have a benevolence fund.

At the United Way office the sympathetic staff person was able to find an agency that could give one-way bus tickets home for the entire family - not gas. The bus leaves first thing in the morning. Maybe someone in town could keep your car and your things for you? This still leaves you without funds for food or baby items. What you really need is gas to get you home.

Someone tells you of a church that might help and gives you directions. You go but no one is there. It's getting late. You've been at this all day then you decide to try one more place - us. You are greeted by friends you've not met yet. They talk with you and give you a bag of snacks from the food pantry - even better, through an arrangement with a local church they'll help with gas so you can go home.

Relieved, you start to leave when your phone rings. It's your wife. She worked something out with one of your credit card companies. You now have gas money. The weight of the world falls from your shoulders. Glad for the news, you accept the snacks and turn down the other assistance. "After all," you tell the Hope for Healing.Org staff, "someone else may need it." Then you smile and head out the door.

"Good luck we say." And wished him well. Then we shook our heads and fussed about churches who won't help and agencies that offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We're really glad that we were able to potentially help and are even more grateful that you made it possible.

Thank you!