There are plenty of organizations out there where you can donate your money and things, but many of us feel, and hear time after time, how the funds and donations are not fully getting to ones in need. Some of the local Thrift Stores throw away or ‘send overseas’ over ½ of the usable merchandise and clothing items that kind people donate to them (thinking they will all be used locally).
So basically we raid our closets, canvass our friends and family, check the "Lost and Found” areas of some local high schools, yoga studios and gym’s, (for back packs, water bottles and yoga mats) make some healthy bag lunches, give out bags of toiletries (single use sizes donated from a local hotel), dental care items (donated by a Dental Hygiene group) and whatever else people without homes may need to ease their burden.
We are just trying to do something meaningful while reducing the amount of stuff people generally throw away. People that have helped in the past (our ‘volunteer angels’) see what a small amount of time and effort can do and what an impact it has on over 800 people/year on the street and through our Housing Outreach, 15 people/year who transition to their first homes after living on the street.
The people that we have helped have touched our hearts and lives much more than I am sure we have touched theirs. We see their struggles and are incredibly humbled when they say ‘thank you ladies for thinking of us and coming down to visit us” and my heart just breaks, we are so grateful to have met them….
Keeping our life’s issues in perspective and never forgetting to make the time to do the ‘right things’ has been very important since the first time we went down in 2012. When someone who had nothing at all thanked us for simply taking a moment, talking to and ‘seeing’ them, and passing on a small amount of our good fortune to them. We were told that by simply showing up and having a conversation with them, they knew ‘real’ people do care. We are not affiliated with any other organized group so our name came from the grass roots reason of why we are doing this… “Did4them”.
If you would like to help by donating, re-purposing your excess life gatherings =) or make a donation (food or otherwise) everything we collect goes directly to the people on the streets.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your consideration and the possibility of helping us with our cause to help others not as fortunate as we are! Our Street (and Housing) Outreach visits remind us that we are indeed here to help take care of each other….and I can’t think of another job that is quite as important =)
Men’s and Women’s SEASONAL clothes
Please make sure clothes and footwear aren’t dirty, stained, ripped, have missing buttons/zippers and/or holes
- Layered shirts, (i.e. tank tops, long sleeved shirts and heavier pullovers), pants (jeans, heavy cotton and dark colours), sweaters, jackets, gloves, toques, shoes, runners, boots, belts, rain gear, snow pants, etc.- New undergarments, socks, belts, bras etc.
Misc:
- Sleeping bags, bed linens, towels/facecloths.
- Basic hygiene products, toothpaste/brushes, soap, hand sanitizers, shampoos, deodorants, hairbrushes, hairclips, razors, Q-tips, Band-Aids, toenail clippers, feminine and incontinence products, etc.
- Backpacks (or any carrying bag, small carry on, laptop case, reusable shopping bags, etc.) yoga mats, spill proof water bottles/coffee mugs.
- Books, arts and craft items etc.
- Gift cards (i.e. Grocery stores, Phone cards etc.)
Please contact us for a more detailed list~
Many thanks!!
Laurissa and Jen
Didit4them@gmail.com
Http://didit4them.blogspot.ca/
Bottle Donation: Encorp Tsawwassen #380
