By Roxanne Rabich, Service Coordinator at Umbrella Managed Systems, talking about making charity packs for people in need in downtown KC and the River Market area.
Heath had a great idea a few weeks ago that we are delivering on… literally. But before I tell you about the idea, I wanted to mention something that we see on a regular basis in downtown KC and the River Market area.
We see people in need.
There are some faces we see frequently in the River Market near our offices. And these people appear to be homeless. Occasionally, they will put their hand out and ask for help. And the worst feeling is when you apologize for not having any spare change… mostly because you’re worried they will go buy liquor or something worse.
The great idea? Charity Packs.
I researched what would go into creating a charity pack for area homeless people. We shopped online quite a bit and decided on stocking caps, gloves and socks, along with some personal hygiene items. We also included some non-perishable food items. When the items were delivered to our office, I sorted everything to set up an assembly line. We took the items and created care packs that would fit in gallon sized freezer bags. A few days later, we had assembled 50 packets.
We distributed the packs across our team with these simple instructions: If you see someone less fortunate in the City Market, at the end of exit ramps, or at intersections, give them a charity pack.
We are blessed to have jobs and homes… the least we can do is offer a small token to those who don’t. We’re already researching and shopping for items to create an appropriate packet for summer months!