“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” – Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the U.S.
With Thanksgiving now over, Christmas songs have taken over the airwaves. One of the more popular and symbolic of this season is Andy Williams’ song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” That’s true for most people – but not the hundreds of thousands of homeless individuals and families scattered across the U.S.
Earlier this year, a report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness shared a statistic that truly saddened me: “17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2019 during HUD’s Annual Point-in-Time Count. These 567,715 people represent a cross-section of America. They are associated with every region of the country, family status, gender category, and racial/ethnic group.”
The consequences of a year filled with COVID19 uncertainties have caused so much havoc in every area of life across the world. So many families have been hit hard financially, and there’s no telling how many more people have been added to the homeless statistics since the pandemic began in 2020.
Thankfully, the holiday season tends to bring out the best in people, and also prompts much more generosity to those in need.
An example of this is a Sacramento Women’s Empowerment Group. They normally host a craft party each year and invite homeless women and children to experience the joy of making items and giving those gifts to their loved ones for Christmas. However, due to COVID social distancing orders, they have taken a different approach by creating a “Craft Party in a Box.” This will allow the women and children to take the “craft party” to a location of their choice and then make gifts for others there.
The Sacramento Women’s Group needs your help. They are currently collecting a variety of craft supplies right now, and welcome your donations to support their efforts to make Christmas special for the families they love serving. To review the full list of items and watch a video of the news coverage of their story, click here.
We, at Sheltering Grace, welcome donations for the homeless mothers and babies we serve. Please contact us at 678-337-7858 to learn how you can help. Each mother and baby will be truly grateful for your kindness.
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Sheltering Grace Ministry, Ltd. is a 501(c)3 Ltd. non-profit ministry. We resolve the initial crisis of homelessness by providing mothers with a safe place to live during pregnancy. We also equip them with the tools they need to improve decision-making, enhance employment options, and increase family income to act responsibly as the head of their household. All of our services develop their self-reliance to progress to permanent independent living. Please join us in renewing and rebuilding the lives of these brave women – #Be1of5000.
