There's something wrong with my new car radio........
Paying it Forward
For months now I’ve been planning on getting a new radio for my car and like most single mothers, I had to budget for it. Well, the time to pick out a new radio finally came and I was pretty excited to have a CD player or even a satellite radio to listen to while I chauffeur my children around.
I was all set to look around today since I have my first child-free day in weeks, but something happened last night. While I was killing time, waiting for my youngest to fall asleep so that I could finally call it a night, I came across an article that knocked some sense into me. I stumbled upon the article at Yahoo.com. The article is called, Going hungry in America.
The article touches on the fact that a large majority of people who hold jobs are not making enough to put food on the table. They’re being forced to choose between keeping a roof over their heads or putting food on the table. There’s just something wrong when we live in a world where hard working people have to live like this. It’s not right.
I know this is a romance novel website and this isn’t the type of thing that you expect to see when you subscribe to the page, but I thought this issue warranted mention. This page isn’t about to suddenly get radical, political or preachy, so no worries. We do however like to help out charities, hence this post.
After reading the article I walked into my son’s room, sat on his bed and just watched him sleep for a while. I couldn’t help feeling fortunate that he doesn’t have to worry about where his next meal is coming from. It’s something that no parent should ever have to worry about, but unfortunately a lot of them do.
I stayed up for a few more hours, thinking about a few things and I decided that my radio works just fine. It’s not something that I will probably be able to do again, but I decided that since the money was meant as a reward for myself that I could damn well spend it any way that I liked. I spent the money on food and donated it to St. Vincent de Paul. It runs the food pantries around my area and many other areas. They help working families with food, utilities and many other services.
I know what I did was overkill, believe me I know, but I’m glad that I did it. I’m not asking everyone to do this because this was my choice to make, but if you happen to have some food sitting in your pantry that you could spare, I’m sure there’s someone out there that would truly appreciate it and make good use of it.
Well, thank you for reading my mini rant 🙂 I truly appreciate it even if you are not able to help.
-R.L.
as one of your devoted followers RL I hope you recall the conversation we had (me you n Christi via FB bout relucant* annoucment) anyways just letting you know followed your lead with generic peanut butter for the doggies at the animal shelter to put inside their “kong” toys to freeze so they have something to enjoy!!!
What a HUGE heart you’ve got there =) thank you for all you do, especially for putting a spotlight on the much needed, whether it be this or the Wounded Warrior project. <3
I think it’s lovely that you did this. Our family volunteers each month at St Paul’s Pantry to feed the working poor in our town. We, collectively, can do so much to help others who are really struggling. Imagine if everyone of your readers were to bring one or two bags of groceries to a food bank or pantry, what a difference it could make!
Someone, I think St Francis of Assisi, once said: Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words’. Keep preaching like St Francis, R.L.! Peace…
Hi RL,
Vinnies (as it’s known here in Australia) have a long tradition of helping struggling families all over the world. They helped me and mine during a particularly nasty period in our lives with food, and probably more important, contact with “the outside world”. My husband fell seriously ill, leaving me as the main breadwinner, and the nearest job 2 hours by public transport each way. They made sure that hubby was never left without any support, both physical and mental, and kept us fed and housed for roughly 6 months. And then, when we finally got on top of things, the girls at the nearest Vinnies found (and kept aside for me) the absolute cutest new suit which I wore to an interview where I got another job (still 2 hours away), but paid roughly three times more than what I was currently earning. I still have the suit (middle age spread procludes me from wearing it, however my 13 year old looks GORGEOUS in it!).
This family now shops regularly at the Vinnies Op Shop, and although we’re still struggling financially, I’ve found that missing out on 2 coffees a week still gives me enough to donate a little every so often, mainly to say thanks to those ladies who seriously kept me and my lot alive and sane.
Whether you realize it or not, what you did today changed someone’s life and that was a blessing not overkill. 🙂 I volunteer at a local non-profit that makes brown bag lunches for kids that are in families living below the poverty level and while I do not get to see the direct benefits of my time and efforts it gives me immense joy to be able to help change someone’s life from a distance. Thanks for sharing… I look forward to hearing about your latest moments like this as much as reading your fabulous books 🙂
♥ I’m glad there are still people in the world with hearts like yours.
I have to say that I think that was just great. We have a family we have known for years in our neighborhood. She is a single grandmother raising her three grandkids. They have nothing, so we decided instead of doing buying Christmas gifts for ourselves last year, we bought for them. They were so shocked, and so happy. When you see the looks on the faces of people it is the best feelling, and you know you made the right choice. Great Job!!!!