Regardless of what your perspective is on homelessness, I’m sure there’s one thing we can all agree on, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ is a great statement to try to live by, and a good thing to teach our children. This statement shares a message of unconditional kindness and has always resonated with me. All too often, people who live on our streets are invisible, forgotten about, walked past briskly as if to say they don’t deserve the time of day. Everyone regardless of his or her situation deserves to be cared about.
For years I’ve struggled with how to respond to panhandling. Kindness is of the utmost importance in my life, and so I’ve always wanted to find a way to ensure that I’m demonstrating kindness to those in need, but I’ll admit that I’ve never felt quite comfortable giving money to people because I worry that it could be spent in a way that could harm them, not help them. I am not trying make gross assumptions about addictions and homelessness, nor am I taking a stance on the issue of how one spends their money because both of these issues are very complex and my thoughts on them would require more than a few taps at the keys to communicate, but suffice it to say that I believe everyone has the right to do with their money as they wish and once you give money to someone else, they have that right just like anyone else. I do however feel that if I give in ways that I am more comfortable with, the act of giving will be more sincere, producing a better result for all parties involved.
My husband and I often grab an extra box of granola bars, or a beverage, or some fruit to offer to someone on our way out of a store if we see them before going in, but when we’re in the car and are approached by someone at a red light, we always feel awful. Keeping the window closed and ignoring them seems like no way to behave, we’ve already addressed the fact that we don’t feel comfortable giving out money, and so there we sit – awkward with a sense of guilt and a heavy heart. We always offer people anything that we might have with us and whatever we offer (a piece of fruit, a bottle of water) has always been accepted with gratitude.
The other night we were driving along and we saw a gentleman in need so we offered him a tangerine and some chocolate, which he thanked us for. It was then that my husband suggested that it might be nice to keep a few things on hand for people in the glove box, and then I went one step further and suggested that I package some snacks, treats, maybe a gift card, with a nice note, and keep them on hand for people. We had just been discussing which charities we would be giving to in 2015 and he coined the term “glove box charity”…another way to give locally, regularly, and in a way that might hopefully have a positive impact on someone’s day.
After doing some uplifting shopping for items to put in our kits, I packaged them all up, and the total cost came to less than $3/kit (not including gift cards). We can’t help but feel great about how much impact we can have for such an affordable amount of money. I have our glove box charity all ready to go and I look forward to being able to smile and pass on kindness the next time I’m stopped by someone in need at a red light.
Want to build a glove box charity of your own? …here are 3 simple steps:
- Clear out clutter.Make space in your glove box by removing unnecessary items (receipts etc), and by relocating items that you want to keep (GPS, gum etc can easily be kept in your centre console or door slot instead).
- Go shopping!Who doesn’t love shopping?…purchase non-perishables to include in your giveaway kits. It’s nice to have a mix of healthy snacks and treats. Our kits will include: granola bars, bottled water, juice, protein bars, raisins, a $5 gift card to Tim Hortons and a note saying, “Have a nice day”. You could also include a small flashlight with batteries or some Hot Paws in the winter.
- Make it pretty.Purchase some cellophane bags and ribbon from the Dollar Store and package individual kits. Storing 5 kits in your glove box is a good place to start.
Don’t forget to involve your kids. There’s no better way to instill values of kindness and generosity in your kids than modeling this behavior, and having them do the same. It might even act as a springboard for bigger conversations around issues of homelessness and philanthropy.
And remember…caring is contagious!
