09/05/05: "You came back!"

Well, we'd almost planned to take the afternoon off to step back, evaluate, and recuperate.

Didn't happen.

After Kendall's benefit yoga class this morning, where we collected $1825 in donations for the project, we continued on. It's hard not to. We've seen the need - it's there and it's screaming at us.

Yesterday, we'd been at the Target at CityPlace buying individual items for families that they requested. While we were there, we found seven rolling duffel bags. You guessed it - we cleaned them out. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Target location was offering a 10% discount on supplies for the hurricane victims if your tab was $100 or more. Well, needless to say, we already had that $100 minimum covered faster than you can blink.

So seven rolling duffels were begging to be distributed this afternoon. We filled them and loaded them into the car.



This time, I stayed home to man the website and get our house in order, and Kendall drove the bags downtown, joined by her friend Lynae. When Kendall gets back, she may have the chance to write a few words. Meanwhile, I can fill you in a bit on what she told me.

The makeshift beauty salon (more on this later) in an alcove outside the building was going strong today. Kendall and Lynae headed that direction. As they were walking up, they were flagged down by a volunteer worker who was accompanying a couple from Louisiana who were struggling with their belongings. The volunteer ran up to Kendall and Lynae and pleaded for the rolling duffel for the people she was helping. Hugs and thank yous all around when they got a rolling duffel.

Then a man approached Kendall and Lynae. "You came back! You came back!" he said. (Are we getting a reputation around Reunion Arena?) I don't know if this gentleman had seen us on one of our previous visits, or if he found out about us from someone else inside the shelter. But he was glad to see Kendall and Lynae. I believe his name was Larry, and he said that he sure could use a duffel bag for his things. He said that he'd been hoping we'd come back today. Kendall told him we'll come back every afternoon if we can.

It's clear that the need still desperately exists for what we're doing. Each day brings something new, and we never know if our access might be cut. So far, however, we haven't had a single problem. In fact, our only problem is that we run out of bags before we run out of people that need them.

Kendall is at WalMart right now. She said they have about 27 rolling duffels there. We're buying them. If you think you can sponsor a rolling duffel, click on one of the links near the top right of the page.

And thank you, everyone, who's donated and made a difference. When we deliver the bags, we always get hugs and kisses, and more god blesses than we deserve. Each and every "god bless you" and "thank you thank you" that we hear also goes out to each and every one of you who are donating and making this happen.

TOTAL ROLLING DUFFELS DISTRIBUTED AT REUNION ARENA TO DATE: 37