National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (November 12-20, 2016)

(http://www.wineandglue.com/2013/05/spread-the-kindness.html)

My father taught my brothers and I the act of helping others and paying it forward at an early age. When he got laid off in the winter months of 2004, he decided to start a charity that helped the homeless during the winter months. As he was driving home, he passed people living on the streets and knew he had to do something about that;he had to make a difference.  When he got home, he asked my second older brother if he wanted to help him with making a change and making a difference, and he quickly said "Yes".My dad then asked me and my other two brothers and we also quickly said "Yes". My dad and (second) older brother came up with the name ; "Operation Warmth". 

Our first year was December 2005, the Saturday morning before Christmas. We collect winter clothing and items throughout the year. We go downtown with all of the donations and set up all of the banana boxes full of clothing on the sidewalk and items and the homeless come and get what they need. You might think they would be pushing each other and grabbing everything that they could hold, but no they are really polite and pretty much stand in a line. Every year,we collect between 300-500 (depend on the year) banana boxes full of donations plus many blankets, pillows, bottles of water, and more. One year we had the local elementary school make Christmas cards for the homeless, we made ornaments out of paper, we provided them with candy canes, sandwiches and also one year we let the homeless decorate their own sugar cookie. 

How did we get all of these donations?  We let our friends and family know on Facebook where to drop off their donations, we post about the charity on online garage sales groups, we make boxes and place them around the community (at schools,businesses, churches,etc.). We also go to garage sales throughout the summer and purchase items that way as well.

It is sad that homelessness and hunger is a big problem in the world today. Nobody should be homeless or not able to have some food.  Nobody knows what someone is going through or why they are on the streets. We all need to spread kindness because that is what we would want if we were in their shoes.


<3 Amanda 

Bullying Needs To End!

Bullying was one of the main things that I had to deal with in middle and high school. I would get called names, other students would just be mean to me on purpose and one time in middle school another student tripped me in the hallway but a teacher saw her do it and the sad thing is I don’t think she got in any trouble. That same girl used to follow me in the hallways as we switched classes. I started to walk faster to each of my classes so she couldn’t catch up to me.

Bullying needs to stop!!  I have been out of high school for almost 7 years now and I still see acts of bullying when I go volunteer at an elementary school. There needs to be more acts of kindness and bullying needs to disappear!!  The facts are difficult to read. Did you know that 160,000 kids in the US stay home every day because of bullying, or that Eighty-three percent of bullying incidents receive no intervention and continue to happen(van der Zande, I, 2014).  If you see a classmate getting bullied, stand up for them. You don’t have to go over there and get into the bully’s face and tell them to quit being a bully. Go find a teacher you trust and bring them to the incident that is going on.

Bullying doesn’t always happen at school.  Bullying can happen through the internet, called cyber bullying. If you are being cyber bullied tell you parents. They will most likely tell you to print off what the bully is saying to you to use as “proof” if it gets way out of hand and if your parents and yourself need help from a higher level like your school principal or sometime authorities.

If you are being bullied and need someone that you can trust and want to talk to for advice, Don’t be afraid to contact me, I have been in your shoes, write a comment with your email and I'll email you. If you’re a bully, please stop and take a look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions:

1.      Why am I being mean?

2.      What makes me better than the people I bully?

3.      How would it make me feel if I was being bullied?

Now, I know that sometimes being bullied can make you a bully because you want to take your anger out on other people but if you want to stop being a bully, talk to your parents or a school counselor and let them know that you are done being a bully and ask them for help if you are having trouble.

After reading this, think of one way that you can spread the act of kindness? What’s one way that you can pay it forward?

Reference:

Van der Zande, Irene. (2014). "Bullying Facts and Solutions: Upsetting Statistics and 4 Actions You Can Take." Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2014. http://www.kidpower.org/library/article/bullying-facts/

<3 Amanda