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cheese, fresh fruit, desserts, and many other tasty items. “That’s when we can talk to people, hand out masks, give them hygiene bags, give them their food, and help them connect if they don’t have a phone,” Greene says.
They receive donations from restaurants and groups including Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato, Moss Rock Tacos & Tequila, Brennan’s Irish Pub, Shipley Do-Nuts, Dreamcakes Café and Dreamcakes Bakery, Grace Klein Ministries, Redmont Hotel, Dave’s Pizza, Trinity United Methodist-Student Ministry, Ross Bridge Resort, and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.
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Our Lady of Sorrows also allows them to use their parking lot on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for a food drive — though, it’s grown into much more than that. People come to drop off water, hygiene bags, small toiletry items, masks, feminine products, socks, and more.
On Sundays, families and groups cook hot dinners for the people in need. One meal included BBQ pork, a hot dog, macaroni and
Dave Ramsey once said that grandparents never talked about money or their romantic relationships, but had a lot of both. These days we talk about money and romantic relationships often, yet don’t have much of either. Ward
Money is something that Williams fascinates most of us from an early age. Each of my children and my nephews have inquired about how much money we make, if we are rich or poor and how to become rich. My answer to how much money we have has always been, “We are in the middle of the middle class.”
Money can often be the cause of fighting, divorce, or even the end of friendships. Decisions involving money are often driven by emotions and not logic. In the U.S., we are provided opportunities for upward economic mobility, but what we do with that is up to us. It’s important that we teach our kids that we have the ability to impact our future to avoid costly, lifelong mistakes and behaviors.
One way to so that is to teach our kids the value cheese, baked beans, watermelon, and dessert. “It’s really an outpouring from the community,” she says. “Everyone has bonded together to make sure people have what they need.”
It’s those people, both volunteers and the ones she meets on the streets, who give Greene joy every day. Some of her best memories come from the relationships she’s built with the people she brings food to. They celebrate birthdays — bringing them cake and candles — pregnancy announcements, and other exciting moments in their lives. “They see our van, we wave, we talk,” she says. “They invite us in, and it’s such a blessing.”
Food For Our Journey has impacted more than just the people it serves, though. This organization has had a lasting impact on Greene’s and Golab’s families, who are also involved with the ministry. “We get to be part of their lives, which is such an honor,” Greene says.
People can help support their mission by donating money and resources, like bagged meals and hygiene items. To volunteer, donate, or learn more about Food For Our Journey, visit
foodforourjourney.org.
JUST FOR DADS
of an education and developing employable skills— and how to develop a healthy work ethic. To support this, we must also help our children avoid developing an addiction to drugs or alcohol that can hinder their goals. Finally, we must teach our kids to plan for their own family and the importance of being able to support their own children before they have them. They have to be able to avoid the lure of easy money to avoid the catastrophic effects of being weighed down with a criminal record.
Teenagers, by nature, are impulsive and have a hard time thinking about a long-term perspective. It is a difficult concept for them to understand how important prevention is to secure a positive outcome. That’s why you must start young when teaching kids about money and wise choices.
My advice: Find financially wise people to mentor your children. Once, at a nonprofit fundraising conference, I heard the presenter say to stop coming to nonprofit conferences for counsel on how to raise money. He suggested that poor people take too much advice from others, and the result has been that they stay poor. Wise counsel is a must, but knowing how to make a good plan for yourself and your own circumstances is an equally important piece to the puzzle.