When the weather gets cold, it is especially important to remember how lucky all of us are to have a roof over our heads, food on our tables, and clothes to wear. It is also important to remember those who do not have such luxuries. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are an estimated 250,000-350,000 homeless persons living in America. That is a drastically high number. We have to find a way to reduce it!
But what can YOU do? You can't exactly invite the homeless to sleep in your house for the rest of their lives. You probably don't make enough money to donate to a homeless organization. But that doesn't mean you can't help. There are many things YOU can do to help the homeless. AND lots of them don't take any money and also require very little effort.
For example, you can volunteer to work at a soup kitchen. A soup kitchen is a place that serves meals to the homeless every night. They are often in search of volunteers to help prepare the food before dinner, or to help serve the food, or to help clean up in the kitchen. Local churches often organize teams of volunteers to go out and assist the soup kitchens in their area.
Check out this site to find a soup kitchen or homeless shelter in your area.
Other organizations, such as Take it to the Streets of Columbus, Ohio, don't wait for the homeless to come to them. These volunteers go out every night to the woods, under the bridges, and behind the buildings in downtown Columbus to take packed dinners to the homeless people living there. Organizations like this one need volunteers like you to help pack the dinners and deliver them to the homeless people.
I volunteered with this organization once, and it was a real eye-opener. The experience of actually seeing the homeless in their camps is something you can't understand unless you are there. After volunteering at a homeless organization, you'll probably find yourself unable to ignore the homeless epidemic in our country.
So what are you waiting for?
Go out there and care, girl! Take your helping to the streets and do some good for those less fortunate than you.
Talking to girls from other parts of the country and of the world is another way to open your eyes to how other people live. Check out Girl Zone's write@her and hook yourself up with someone interesting to talk to!
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For more information on Take It To The Streets click here. |