I have a lovely friend, Charlcye, who is a bonus mom to three beautiful girls. Charlcye and Mike are raising their daughters to be socially aware and to understand how their lives can positively impact the world around them. When Charlcye posted about their daughter Ashton’s drive to help the homeless, I asked if I could share it with you all. Here is their story:
At age 8, Ashton and I were in the car driving to Half Priced Book Store. She saw a homeless man on the corner with a sign that said he was homeless.
She asked “Where does he sleep?”
I said I didn’t know…he didn’t have a home.
She asked, “What does he do when it’s cold outside?”
I said he tries to find a place to go inside or he finds a place to sleep next to a building and tries to bundle up under a blanket.
She asked, “Can we take him home to live with us?”
I said we weren’t able to do that but we could do something to help him and other people in this situation.
We went to the bookstore, I gave her $5 to buy a book. She found two books and showed them to me. She said, “I really want this book.” which was almost $5. Then she said, “If I buy this book for $2 can I take the rest of the money to the homeless man?”
She bought the $2 book and we searched for the man. That night she told her dad about her day. She was sad… Mike and I discussed how to empower her in situations and how to teach her to create opportunities to make a difference in the world.
We decided to start an annual coat drive that is “Ashton’s”. She makes the signs for the collection boxes, arranges where the collection spots will be, helps promotes the event, regularly picks up the items, and takes the items to the shelter(s).
Ashton is now 10 years old. She is empowered. She has the confidence and experience to know she can and will change her world.
She is collecting Nov 5th-20th at Bolsa Mercado, in North Oak Cliff. Two more collection sites (TBD) will participate as part of her 2012 “Heat the Homeless” drive.
If you are local to DFW and are looking for a way to be involved, I strongly recommend Ashton’s Heat the Homeless drive. I know Charlcye very well, and 100% vouch for any work in which she is involved. Find more information on Facebook here, and check out Bolsa Mercado for a free coffee with your donation.
The Outside Lane 