9/30

Well tonight me Mickey and Marion took a friend of ours grocery shopping, we picked up $67.83 worth of groceries, and we were also able to give him $2.75 for bus fare.

Earlier today, about $16.00 was spent to get a homeless guy some clothes at the La Joya thrift store and dinner at McDonalds.

So right now the purse currently has $83.44 in it.

Shalom! Equality! Solidarity! Blessings!

9/28/09

$8.64 was spent on food for a family.

We now have $170.27 in the purse.

Y'all let me know if you find out any needs that we can fill. This purse is here to be used :)

9/27

So the purse has been put to work the last few days!

Yesterday evening $35 went to help a friend pay rent and buy a few groceries.

Today $8 went to help him do laundry.

We spent $49.59 today getting clothes and shaving supplies for two friends of ours who are currently homeless. We got jeans, shoes, a belt, socks, razors, shaving cream, after shave, khakis...good stuff! In addition to a binder a friend of ours needed for school.

Right now in the account we have $128.91

We are seeing needs being filled, thank God!

morning 9/26

Today we wired $120 bucks to our homeless friend who just moved to Austin and is trying to get settled there.

Right now there is $121.50 in the account, thanks for your generous gifts!

9/25/09

So today we were able to help a family out with their electric bill. Now since their electricity had been turned off, there was a series of 5 different fees they have to pay which add up to $125!!

Seems to me that if someone has their electricity turned off they're in bad enough financial shape where it's incredibly immoral to charge them $125 EXTRA to get it turned back on. Kind of like kicking someone when they're down.

But we were able to pay it, it added up to $401.12. Isn't that insane? A family owes $276 and is unable to pay it, and when they go to pay the bill it's now over $400!!!

That's not right if you ask me. All it required to get it turned back on was a guy driving over there and turning it on, which they had done by the time we got back. Why does that cost $125?

So right now in the Community Purse we have $191.49, a sizable chunk of which we are going to send to our homeless friend who just moved to Austin yesterday (where he is also homeless) to help him out a little bit while he gets his bearings. Any suggestions for how much to send?

9/24

1.98 spent on pain medicine for a friend in need.

9/20

So today we used $35 bucks to help a friend pay his rent. We will probably take him grocery shopping soon. If you would like to go with me to take our friend grocery shopping, let me know.

9/13

Yesterday $55 was spent on helping a friend with rent, $10 was spent on groceries for him.

Today we spent $4 and some change on breakfast cereal and milk for some kids of a family who needed breakfast, and I ate with them.

$10 was given to a homeless friend I know really well to help him get a phone charger, he's got his resume out and is on the job hunt and needs a contact phone, so he's looking to get a charger for his phone to replace the one that was lost.

I'm really happy with how this is going so far.

9/12

Yesterday $22.65 was spent on groceries and school supplies for a family.

Please pray for us that we are able to share our wealth in loving ways.

Please pray for our community of friends that eats together, that we may love one another and live at peace with one another.

9/7

Today $26.41 was spent on groceries for a family we know.

Got em some breakfast stuff which is good since their school bus is usually too late to school for them to catch breakfast there.

Right now their gas is turned off, when I find out if they want help turning it back on I'll put it up on here.

Report

Today we were able to help a friend of ours out with $35 bucks to help with his rent.

There is currently $265 in the "purse" which right now I have with me, tomorrow I'll open an actual account at a bank.

First-time visitors

To all my friends who haven't been to our site yet.

There are so many needs in our area, as there are throughout many other communities and the world. We're going to try and do what we can to help those around us. Many of you know about our weekend potlucks on Saturday and Sunday where we go to eat in the park with our friends who are not as financially secure as some of us are. Through that, we've encountered numerous needs that just seem to be piling up. So many of you have been incredibly generous through helping donate money and food to buy the meals for the potlucks. But now we're expanding our range of service a bit to try and meet some of the other needs these individuals in the community have.

I know everyone is tight on money. We're in a "recession" and most of you are fighting for work yourself. But our friends from the park sometimes need a little help getting their electricity turned back on, or getting groceries or paying a fine.

These are, for the most part, people who have gone through periods in their life that have landed them in a bad position. But now, they are trying to get back on their feet. It's hard though when they don't have enough money that week for a bus pass to get to work or they come home to no electricity.

Most of these request wont be asking much, if you've notice the post below this. But it's just enough money that they haven't been able to scrape away funds to pull it together.

For those who know my, I can vouch on behalf of Dan that you're not going to have your money stolen from you or used for bad purposed. Dan has the most giving and gentle hearts and I lived with him and several people for about a year, so I trust him very much. He struggled in his heart trying to figure a way to do this because I know he doesn't want to be in charge of the money or create an account in his name. We've looked into creating a non-profit organization, and it's a little more difficult than you may think.

Some of you may not have the same spiritual beliefs as Dan and I and that's OK. We're not asking you to do this in the name of God or for any religious practices. This is just one man helping another.

I know many of you are going to come through on this and I just want to thank you in advance from the depths of my heart. Whether you want me to or not, I'm going to pray God blesses you ten fold for each one of your donations. It's a beautiful and loving thing to help another human being. It's amazing how communities can let these individuals slip through the cracks.

Dan and I (and whoever else he gives access to this blog) will try and keep you updated on where the money goes, how much was donated, who has been helped and maybe a little bit about that person so you can know something about the person you are helping.

Please bookmark, save, whatever you do best, this blog so when you find you were tipped a little extra at work or something, you can pull it up and see what the needs are. I encourage you to pass this blog link around as well. Let's see what kind of difference we can make.

Love, Cassie

<3

Matthew 25:35-40

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

1st Need

One of our friends needs help getting his ID. Once they send him his voter registration card it costs $15 bucks to get an ID.