When I first received the money, I prayed that it go to the right places and give back to those who truly needed it. I received the money on Wednesday & was invited to a charity event the following night. I met someone who is just starting a non-profit organization that benefits burn survivors. The organization promotes scientific research initiatives, along with family and friend support, for survivors of traumatic burn injuries. This issue is near and dear to my heart, because my Dad was severely burned as a child & struggled with it his entire life. The 4 year anniversary of his passing was that next week & I felt like I should donate $20 of the fund to the foundation to help victims not go through much of the struggles that he had to face.
The following Monday, I was contacted by a grandmother of a student I had 3 1/2 years ago. I had not spoken to the family in 3 years. The family really struggles, mom is in and out of the picture leaving the 4 kids be to raised by an 88 year old grandmother. The Grandma contacted me on Wednesday morning during a boot camp class. I saw her number pop up & immediately answered it. She told me that her granddaughter was really struggling that morning. Her Grandpa had passed during the summer, it was a tough time at the high school, and other family issues were a lot for this young lady to handle. The Grandma tried talking to her about the issues going on & she wouldn’t open up. She asked who do you trust to talk to & she didn’t have an answer. The Grandma told me, “I don’t know why, but your name popped in my head so I asked her about you and she said yes, so I called you.” I spent the day with the young lady & we got to talk & hang out. When I brought her home, I talked to the Grandma some more about everything going on & I asked, “How are you doing financially?” She said, “Oh we are doing alright. We’ve had some help here & there.” I thought to myself, “well maybe this is not where I need to give my money.” I had $40 of it in my purse. We continued to talk & I decided ok I’ll give her the $40 from 10 for Him. I explained the group & she started crying and hugged me and thanked me so many times. In that instant, her phone rang.
It was a hospital bill collector wanting to settle their costs for $38.79!!! It was truly a blessing to witness it all unfold!!!
I had $80 more from our group & I wanted to make sure I used it in the right place. One of my clients asked me if I’d like to volunteer at a low income head start school in Irving. I went to the school, dressed up like a book character & read a book to the children. After talking to the counselor, I found out that many of these children don’t even wear underwear or socks to school because they don’t have enough money. She has a closet with clothing that she buys to help the kids. Many of them come starving & haven’t eaten since the day prior at school. I felt that this particular school needed our assistance and I gave the money to the school to go toward whatever the kids needed.
I feel so blessed to be a part of this group & honored that we got to help so many with our money!
Kristi, Texas
P.S. Our group had 14 members, before we split into two groups, that is why I had $140. : )