Hello dear readers and happy holidays to you! Over here at Home Heart Card, there have been many creative ideas brewing over the last few months.
Be on the look out for new content, a new look, and ideas about this site. Can’t wait to show you the stuff I have in store. If you missed it, my old blog is moving here from bellabouquet.blogspot.com. Lots of changes coming…who’s ready for 2015!?
This week in the national and international news, was a story about a 90-year-old man named Arnold Abbott in sunny Florida, who was getting in major trouble with the law. This headline drops jaws for several reasons. What could a (purportedly) sweet, geriatric grandpa-man have possibly done to result in the annoyance and attention of the Ft. Lauderdale police? The answer to that question is also jaw-dropping.
He had set up (as he had for years) a place in a public park to feed plates of healthy food to the homeless. Abbott considers it a service and a ministry to help those with nothing. Those supporting the police say ministries like this keep the problems associated with vagrancy and homelessness continuing.
This polar opposite view made me wonder, are public aid projects (non-profit, governmental, civic, church, etc.) helping fill a gap when people are in need? If we follow a metaphor of a band-aid– are these programs to help put a band-aid on a problem so the wound can heal– and the people get back on their feet? Or is the band-aid merely hiding a sore so it can continue to fester?
Here’s a news article with an attached video.
To be honest, I don’t know the answer. I know I, personally and spiritually, have benefitted from service projects to others; more on that for another day!
I would hope that the attorneys, judges, lay people, and law enforcement people of Ft. Lauderdale make some right choices. And in the interest of respect for our elders, I say, I hope Mr. Abbott isn’t arrested and jailed. And to Mr. Abbott, I say, “Follow your heart and rock on!!”
Be strong, friends. Hold each other up. Shine.
– Adrienne with HHC
I had the opportunity recently to get in touch with a young lady who had relocated from across the country in order to protect herself and her son from a domestic violence situation. HHC is about connecting people who’ve lost touch– through a post card. In some cases, separation is better than connection. This is one of those cases.
This young woman made a compelling case that she didn’t need anything for herself, but only wanted some necessities for her son until she got paid from her temp job. I asked her a few more questions about what they had and what they needed– she reverted over and again to the needs of her child, not herself. This is what a mother does, folks. A mother works a crummy job in a new place hundreds of miles away from the people she cared about because it gives her kiddo a chance at something better.
As a stroke of fate (or coincidence), she and I shared many of the same sizes in shoes and clothing, and because I’ve recently moved, I had a lot of housewares, cleaners, etc. that were in duplicate. I keep a (lovingly referred to by my sister and I) apocalypse box– a large tote of toiletries I buy on sale and then rotate into the shower or sink. I purged my box and put together a great big bag of things a woman who left behind most of her stuff– would want and use.
It’s the season of pumpkin-spice-everything– which makes us think of fall and makes us think of Thanksgiving. I’m grateful I got the chance to take stock of how thankful I am to be so safe and protected with my food, shelter, and clothing. And I’m grateful that I had a chance to share some of my “blessings” with this family of two.
Inspiration:
In the interest of explaining what’s going on here, I am starting a small project, which may lead into being a non-profit business, which may lead to some great stories to be written, and books to save the world! It’s been inspired by the works of Frank Warren with the Post Secret project, my work with Amnesty International and their global writing campaign, the “Write for Rights”, and Caitlin Boyle’s books and website, Operation Beautiful. (If you hover over the words, you’ll see links to connect you to those organizations for more information.)
Old-fashioned Letter-Writing:
I’ve been known among my family and friends to “be the one to single-handedly keep the postal service working,” or “a penpal.” I’m, by trade, an English teacher, and I find that resoundingly, words have power. It’s also matter of how we choose to share our words– whether spoken, written, or digital– our words can be the things that make our salvation. A year ago, I moved from the South to the West and I wrote over 100 post cards to others as my journey across 7 states and 1500 miles occurred. My best friend’s toddler eagerly awaits my letters and post cards at his mail box as I’m no longer a presence in his small life daily. I have a pen pal that I started writing back in 7th grade as a class assignment– and we’ve stayed in touch, and met in person, although she’s in France and I’m in the States. My second cousin in the Midwest and I decided to be penpals in our elementary school days– we wrote notes and letters back that continue to this day. Letters. Words. Cards. Postcards– delivered between people who care– are very, very close to my heart.
Communication in Communities:
Home Heart Card was born of the idea that, although we’re connected in the 21st century world (gosh, I sound like an old person writing that phrase!), not all can participate in the texting, tweeting, emailing immediacy that defines our modern times. Many homeless people lack the resources for food, shelter, and clothing, so they definitely don’t have a phone to be able to call their mother and say they’re okay. I’ve been giving out Manna bags (see this helpful message board) for a few months now. There’s a high population of homeless, wandering, and begging people in Denver, due to the beautiful, mild, and forgiving weather. Not matter the weather, it doesn’t change that people need the necessities for life, and my heart strings are tugged every time I see someone with a cardboard sign asking for food or help. I thought about some personal examples in my life of the heartbreak of communication done badly between loved ones and I wondered, “How does a guy, who’s living on the street, tell his mama he loves her?” Thus, the idea of Home Heart Card starting cooking in my mind.
What It Is:
Home Heart Card is a charitable organization, started in 2014 by Adrienne Gauthier, in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the organization is to reconnect loved ones and friends with people who may have been lost to them. In the immortal words of J. R. R. Tolkien, “All who wander are not lost,” and this post card initiative offers those wanderers among us to write a note and mail it to a loved one. For some, living a non-standard, unsheltered life, these methods of communication (a quick call, email, or text) are out of reach. Home Heart Card hopes to bridge the gap– make it possible for people to write back to someone who they love. We place a blank, stamped postcard with a pen in the Manna bags. The recipient of the card has the chance to write a note to someone he or she loves. Because it’s stamped, they can mail it through a USPS mail box and hopefully their loved one will read it. The project completes the circle– when it becomes digital. The card receiver snaps a picture or emails this blog with the card. Hopefully it allowed them to get in touch with one who’s taken the “road less traveled in their life.”
Your Take:
Want to help? Want to participate? Message me on facebook, tweet, or leave a comment here on the web page. We are always looking for people to donate food, items, funds, and volunteer time for this project.
A motivating quote for this project is from the poet Robert Frost, paraphrased as, “I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference.” Make a difference. Participate in Home Heart Card.
Cheers! Adrienne
homeheartcard AT gmail.com
Hello and Good day!
If you’re reading this, you probably received a postcard with this web address. Thank you so much for checking in!
This is a global project, started in Denver, Colorado, USA in order to re-connect loved ones near and far.
If you received a post card, please snap a pic (if you can) and email it to homeheartcard@gmail.com.
1. What was your reaction when you received it?
2. From where did your card originate?
3. How far did it travel? (Where did it arrive with you?)
Thanks for participating and check back soon for more updates and information about this exciting new project.
A new post card project connecting people near and far.
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