Soon our families will be gathered together for a feast of thanksgiving. We will stuff ourselves until we're hurting. We will divvy up the leftovers for nibbling over the weekend. But there are many who have no invitation to the family dinner. For them, it's just another day of trying to survive.
Thankfully, there are people that not only care, but do something about it. Cindi and Mark of Target: Dayton are two of those people. They not only share the gospel with the homeless of Dayton, but they meet their needs. They serve meals to those that attend the services. They gave out over 400 pairs of winter gloves in October alone. God has blessed them with enough donations to buy this chuch:
You can see the nice buses they are blessed to have. They provide transportation from homeless shelters, low-income housing, the RTA bus hub, and the public library. Last month, over 4000 people road their shuttle buses to Target Dayton Ministries.
This is one of the choir members.
She also helps out around the place. She was all excited because I told her she could come visit our farm. She wants a home in the country someday...
They prepare over 4000 meals a month, so they need a kitchen adequate to handle the load.
They also need a large place to serve the meals. Last month, they served 1500 people a hot breakfast, and over 2500 people were served a hot dinner.
Cindi is very organized. The tables are numbered to help the volunteer servers. It is amazing to watch how efficiently their system works. I've never seen a professional caterer do as well a job at getting a large number of people served pronto!
So why am I telling you about them again? Well, if you live in the Dayton Ohio area, they could sure use your help and/or your donations. If you live somewhere else, there's likely a similar place near you that needs volunteers, money, supplies...
Whatever your situation, there is something you can do to make the world a better place. Maybe you have decent clothes in your closet that you no longer wear. Maybe you have a few hours a week to spare. Maybe you have a van or car and could take someone to an appointment. Maybe you're good at reading or Mathematics. Cindi told me about a guy that gets to keep damaged boxes of syrup. Evidently a lot of boxes get damaged, because Cindi doesn't have to buy syrup anymore!
Please think about what you have or what your talents are, and how God can use you to help someone else. There is no better feeling than knowing that because of you, someone else had a better day...
There is a link to Target: Dayton! in my sidebar. If you would like to make a donation to their cause, you will find an address on their home page.
May God bless you and yours this season, and may you never be without a home.
