They say "necessity is the mother of invention" - well, Jo Sexton would probably tell you "necessity is the mother of inspiration." Jo and her husband AJ allowed a trying time in their own life to become the catalyst for helping others in need.
We Will Serve Ministires (WWS) is a totally home grown labor of love born out of one family's loss and now 2 years later over 800 families have been helped!
AJ lost his job in July of 2007 when his stock brokerage firm went out of business due to the collapse of the financial services industry and his ability to provide for the family was practically eliminated. The family liquidated AJ's 401k to pay the bills, and eventually sold all of their remaining investments as well.
Here is Jo's story in her own words:
In the very early morning of Thanksgiving Day, I was posting an ad on the "free" section of Craigslist to donate Aiden's clothing that he had outgrown. I noticed that there was a “wanted” section as well, and the first ad I read was titled “Dear Santa.” It was a desperate cry from a single mother of two who was struggling to make ends meet, and was asking for help as well as a Christmas tree. I immediately wanted to help her, and began searching for free children's clothing and items that would be of use to this mother. As I searched for these items I was shocked at how many people were giving away clothing for free. In the "wanted" section the ads were just as overwhelming, the need so great! I responded to every ad in the free section that would possibly help a family in need, and went from home to home picking up the items. Then I responded to the "wanted" ads and let them know I had what they needed.
Thanksgiving Day I sent out an email to all of our friends and family asking them for their generous donations and before I knew it I had filled up our car. Within that first week we received over 500 pieces of clothing. I then posted my own ad on Craigslist letting families that are in need know that we could help them.
What followed was an email barrage that consumes most of our waking hours. Since Thanksgiving night, more than 300 families in desperate financial need have contacted us. All of these families are either expecting or have children anywhere between newborn to 17 years old. We've welcomed over one hundred of these families into our home, blessed them with clothing & other essential items for their children, and prayed over them.
All of us have, at one time or another, donated clothing and children's items to Goodwill, Church, a neighbor or family member, etc. But ask yourself, out of all of those donations, how many people did you personally impact and create a relationship with?
This is our goal, to not just donate items but to get to know these families, witness to them out of our own struggles giving them a sense of hope, come alongside them and pray over them if they'll allow us. We want to be someone that not only hands these families a bag of clothing, but someone who is willing to listen to them and minister to them, with warm hearts and sincere smiles.
How big will this get? Only God knows, but we're ready and willing to be His faithful servants and to continue to help those in need.
Jo Sexton
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| The Sexton Family |
WWS has collected and are continually accepting donations of gently used clothing, shoes and essential baby items. Currently they have over 3,000 pieces of clothing that have been sorted by gender and sizes (newborn-14/16 in children). They also have essential baby items from diapers and formula to car seats and strollers.
I am always humbled and inspired to learn of the awesome people out there making a difference in their communities! Jo & AJ are the true embodiment of "common man philanthropy!" I am happy to share their hearts with you and I hope we can all learn a lesson from the Sexton family:
"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have!"
Get Involved:
Donate to We Will Serve Ministries.
Contact We Will Serve Ministries for volunteer opportunities ( Orange County, CA) or to make arrangements to donate clothing or essential baby items.
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Source: We Will Serve Ministries.
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