Today's opportunity, PBJ (Peanut Butter and Jelly) Outreach http://www.pbjoutreach.org is a diverse group of people volunteering their time and services to provide food, clothing, and basic social services to homeless people as well as those who are below the poverty level, living in the depressed and impoverished areas of the Metropolitan Detroit area, including the Cass Corridor section of inner city Detroit. The services are provided to all, regardless of race, religion (or lack thereof), gender or national origin.
PBJ Outreach in began with an idea when Deacon Tim Sullivan from Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, Michigan and his wife, Gail, visited Boston in July 2002. While they were walking in the historic district of Boston, they saw a woman leaning against the Old State House building and holding a sign that read, "Help Me I'm Homeless."
While Deacon Tim had always been attentive to the poor, he couldn't help but think as he looked at this woman that she's part of the "faceless homeless." After giving the lady a few dollars, he walked past her. He stopped a few feet away and thought of the money he was spending during his stay in Boston. Deacon Tim and Gail returned to give the homeless lady a few more dollars. As they turned to leave, Gail asked the lady for her name so they could pray for her by name. The homeless woman said, "Pam." As they started to leave, Pam called after them, "What are your names so I can pray for you?" At that moment, the homeless had a name and face for Deacon Tim . Pam.
The next day while walking around lunch time, in a park called Boston Commons, Deacon Tim saw a young woman standing behind a card table who was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless. The next day he took Gail back to Boston Commons to see the woman making sandwiches. On the way back to Detroit Deacon Tim told his wife "I'm going to do that." Deacon Tim's experiences in Boston planted the seeds for him to start PBJ Outreach in Detroit.
PBJ Outreach was launched on October 5, 2002. On that day, a few volunteers, working behind one card table, prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and gave them to between 30 and 40 homeless people who had gathered at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Third in the Cass Corridor. This was the start of a program that today feeds 250-350 homeless people every Saturday morning in inner city Detroit. It all began when a woman in Boston named Pam held up a sign that said: "Help Me I'm Homeless." Today, the PBJ Outreach operates at MLK and Third every Saturday.
Since PBJ Outreach provides food and clothing for approximately 250-350 homeless people every Saturday morning, our needs are great. We can use almost anything that can be easily carried by a homeless person in a plastic grocery bag.
Their Wish List can be found here: http://www.pbjoutreach.org/list.htm.
Pick up a flat rate priority mail box at the post office and send them some of the requested items from their wish list. You can also make monetary donations. Addresses are on the website.
Source: PBJ Outreach
Related Link: http://www.pbjoutreach.org
No comments:
Post a Comment