$3.99

As I prepare to move the “Get Out and Give Back” blog and newspaper column to a bigger writing/speaking/coaching venue, I realized that I’d been spending too much time in the last few months holed up developing the business and not enough time contributing and serving.  So, yesterday (Wednesday) I pried my fingers off of my laptop and walked two blocks to the local church to help out with a bi-weekly project to help the underserved with food, clothing, funds and other needs.

I live in a historic neighborhood with marked socio-economic contrasts.  Some of the homes here cost in the mid-millions, while others a few blocks away are ghetto.  The rest of us are somewhere in the middle.  There’s a CVS two blocks east and south of me that I run into all the time for whatever.  And there’s a convenience store two blocks north and one block east with barred windows, five locks on the doors and the largest variety of Boone’s Farm cheap wine that I’ve ever seen that I walked into once and was afraid of being held up.  We share the same zip code but not much more. 

So as always, even those two hours of service gave me the butt-kicking perspective that I desperately needed.  The doors of the church opened at 9 a.m.  Our guests lined up as early as 6 a.m.  When about 40 had signed in we closed off the sign-in roster and began helping each one on a first in/first served basis.  I shadowed one of the more seasoned volunteers as she called utility companies on behalf of our guests to curtail their power shut-offs, wrote small checks to help out with rent and asked some to return the next day when they could produce a lease or contact information for a landlord.  Every guest who we served was offered a visit to the food pantry, and some of them were there only for the food. 

Then finally, as it neared 11:00 and our daily funds dwindled south of ten dollars, we announced that we were almost out of money for the day.  A woman holding the right side of her jaw asked for money to buy ibuprofen.  As another volunteer called CVS to get the cost of an over-the-counter bottle, the guest told me that she had an absessed tooth that wouldn’t be pulled until next Monday, and it was so painful that she wanted to throw up.   So we wrote our last check for $3.99, gave her fifty cents for tax, and sent her off to CVS.

I’ve interviewed several people about what would compel them to attend one of my speaking engagements, and what would inspire them to contribute.  Several mentioned that they wanted to hear results – what does $100, or $10, buy?  How would an hour of my time help someone?  How do I know if my gift of time, talent or treasure will make a difference?

And now I have the answer:  $5.00 will give a homeless man two new pairs of underwear.   A big basket of leftover Halloween candy will brighten up the two-hour wait for assistance.  $7.80 gives a veteran a round-trip bus ticket to the Veterans’ Hospital for a PTSD appointment.  And a gift of $3.99 - and tax – will help a woman endure the mind-numbing pain of an absessed tooth for five days. 

So today I dumped all of the change I’ve kept in a “dream vacation” bank and put it in a clear baggie.  And that baggie is going in my coat pocket.   So now when a stranger asks me for a quarter for a bus token it will be my honor to give it to him.

Can you keep some spare change in your pocket?

Get out and give back.