This content was created in partnership with Ford to help make creativity a part of every drive this holiday season.
My daughter Scarlet is six and-a-half years old: a first grader! Which means that she is learning about a lot of new stuff (beyond common core math – that’s a whole other post). One thing on her mind as of late has been the idea of “community helpers” and our social responsibility to the people around us.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we’ve been using our downtime during car rides around town to discuss the things we feel grateful for (our health, our family, our home) and in turn, ways that we can help others who aren’t as lucky right now. We wanted to figure out what we could do to help.
To give you a little background: We live in Los Angeles, which means we drive everywhere. We don’t have a DVD player in the car, and I don’t hand over my phone as a means of tuning her out very often, because I like using our drive-time as time to connect. One afternoon we were discussing this topic of gratitude right as we stopped at a particular intersection near our home where we often encounter people asking for help. Scarlet always wants to give a few dollars to the man, woman, or family we see, and on this day she asks me, with a concerned look on her face, how they ended up there. I wish I could’ve explained it to her in a way that made any kind of sense, but really homelessness is a complicated topic with so many different causes. All I could say is that we don’t know their stories, or how they ended up where they are; but the people asking for help on that street corner were not much different than us, and we should feel a kinship with, and a responsibility to help, people who find themselves in that situation. Scarlet replied that it just wasn’t fair. She said that because we have a house and a car, we could help. And she was right. She is right. I want to encourage this caring spirit in her, but sometimes when we are in the car on our in-town errands, I just don’t have any bills on me. And that means we have to drive away from people in need without doing anything to help them. When this happens it breaks Scarlet’s heart, and mine too! But together, we had an idea.
So as we were mulling over what we, as a family, could do to assist our community, Scarlet said she would like to help the people we see when we are driving. I explained to her that while we are very lucky, we don’t have enough money to give everyone we meet the funds to purchase a home. However, I explained, we do have enough money to give something, maybe a type of gift, to help. I asked her what she thought that gift could be. Scarlet thought about this for a few days. She face-timed her grandmother, who volunteers at a shelter in Sacramento, to ask for advice, then she made a list of all the things she learned that someone currently without a home might like to receive. She presented me the list, and together we refined it to include things our family could afford to give (the original list started with “house” so we had to get realistic) that a person going through a hard time might like to get.
Armed with our list, we set about putting together care packages we could hand out from the car. We went shopping,
packed them up,
and then Scarlet insisted on including a piece of artwork (because “my artwork always makes you feel happy mommy, maybe it will make someone else feel happy too”).
Now every time we hop into the car, instead of complaining about boredom, Scarlet is looking for someone to help. Our family has learned so much from doing this project together. This experience opened the floodgates to conversations about appreciating what we have, and doing what we can to share it and care for others.
Click through to read the full post about our effort to Help the Homeless with Car Care Packages, and consider doing something similar with your family this season.
Helping the Homeless with Car Care Packages
Here is how we went about making our car care packages…
First, we made a list of what to buy. This list is based on my own experience volunteering at a Los Angeles homeless shelter, as well as input from Scarlet’s meemah, and a some truly unique ideas from Scarlet herself.
Next we took our list to our local around-a-dollar-per-item store and purchased as much as we could there. Then we dug up a coupon for a drug store and went there to buy everything we hadn’t found yet.
While we were shopping, a few new ideas occured to Scarlet that weren’t on the original list. Here is what we ended up purchasing. We will start with the packaging:
Packaging:
As you can imagine, I have a strong innate desire to wrap everything in kraft paper and seal it with washi tape. While we know that being homeless doesn’t mean you stop appreciating cutely packaged items, it just didn’t seem practical to use non-waterproof packaging or tape that could rip. We decided that these packages should be useful first and foremost, so here is what we chose:
Manila envelopes: This was to pack a “writing kit” to include in the bigger bag. Scarlet felt strongly that we should provide some means of writing, drawing, and mailing for people that may not have any clean paper. I never thought of this, but in the end I think it was a lovely idea.
1 quart plastic zip bags: These we would pack with toiletries and place inside a bigger bag with all the other items. We wanted to keep it separate so it could be easily carried into a bathroom, letting everything else stay dry.
2 gallon plastic freezer bags: These are big enough to hold everything, but not too big to carry, as well as waterproof, frost-proof, and resistant to tearing. We would pack the two smaller “kits” within this bigger bag, and then also fill it with other items.
Contents:
We decided to start by making eight kits to distribute. We spent about $100 on the eight kits, which Scarlet said was “worth it.” I agree, though I think when we make a new set, we will ask local business to contribute (Are you a local business owner? Would you say yes if a child asked you to participate in this endeavor? I feel like many would, but would love your opinion on if you would contribute, and if so, the best way to ask for contributions in the comments).
1. Writing Kit
This may seem like the least “necessary” of all the items we included, but it was very important to Scarlet, so I obliged. As I said before, I actually think this was a really lovely thought when the kits were all completed. Scarlet said “What if someone wants to write a letter home but doesn’t have money for a stamp?” Good point. And really, homeless or not, we all deal with so many bureaucratic things through the mail, it just makes sense to do what we can to make it easier. So we included these items in a manila envelope:
-Pad of paper
-Pen
-Envelopes
-Stamps (we placed our stamps on the envelopes because Scarlet wanted to, but you could include them separately)
Toiletry Kit
In the quart-size bags, we included basic toiletries. One of the things that really hit home when I was volunteering at a homeless shelter was how hard it can be to feel clean when things like shampoo or razors are out of your budget (much less access to a shower). We placed these toiletry items in a smaller waterproof plastic bag so they could be easily carried into a bathroom.
-Soap
-Shampoo/Conditioner in one
-Toothbrush
-Toothpaste
-Razor
-Deodorant
Food
We wanted to create kits without an expiration date, but we realized that hunger is a major concern for people who are currently homeless. We decided to include energy bars and gift cards to local fast food restaurants for $5 each. My husband purchased the gift cards and Scarlet wrote a note on each one.
We also purchased bottles of water to hand out with the bags.
-Water
-Energy bars
-$5 Gift cards
Everything Else
During our research we learned of some things (surprising to us) that people living without a home could need (that now seem obvious). Scarlet also thought of a few things while we were shopping (like small LED flashlights “because it’s dark at night if you don’t have electricity, and that’s scary”) that I had never considered. Maybe you will learn from this list as much as we did:
-First aid kits (with bandages, antiseptic, etc.)
-Painkillers: Medicine is expensive, and personal aches and pains tend to go unattended when food and shelter are more pressing issues
-Hand sanitizer (Getting sick while homeless can mean the end to all hope, so anything that can help prevent illness is essential)
-Gum (Fresh breath is a universally good feeling)
-Socks: We learned that clean socks (and also underwear) are some of the hardest things to come by for people between homes (because used socks are not something that is ever donated – they have to be given new) and that having clean, warm feet is a wonderful thing that we might be taking for granted. So we purchased standard mens’ athletic socks in size 10-13 in hopes they would work for the majority of people we meet.
-Tissues (We wanted to include wet wipes, because they are easier to use without a sink, but we couldn’t find any smaller sizes than your traditional giant baby wipe bag, so we went with tissues)
-Mini LED flashlights with batteries (See Scarlet’s thoughts on this above)
So after we went shopping, we set about packing up our kits. We piled all of the contents on the ground and started by laying out the bags. Then we began to pack them up. Actually, Scarlet began to pack them up and told me to leave her alone, because she wanted to do it herself. So I did.
Then Scarlet stated that she would like to include a letter for each recipient. I did not see any reason to disagree, so she and her dad sat down to craft messages together.
Scarlet decided that she would like to do a happy drawing for each person. I can’t say I have any idea how it would feel to recieve a package like this, but a child’s drawing always brightens my day. It might not be the most useful, but maybe it could be the best part?
When we are all done, Scarlet headed out to the car to place the care packages in the backseat, ready for giving.
I would love to know if you think this was a good idea, and any advice you have for improving our care packages. Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments! If you make care packages for the homeless, please share your creations with us via facebook, twitter, pinterest, and instagram, and hashtag them #prudentcarepackage so we can spread your ideas and improvements! Happy Thanksgiving season from my family to yours!
This content was created in partnership with Ford to help make creativity a part of every drive this holiday season.
