How To Give Charity Wrapped in Dignity
I ended my previous blog, " Why Our Programs Will Never Stop Homelessnes, " on this note, "To fix homelessness, they don't need us. We need to need them." As a follow up to this, here is a story about giving charity wrapped in dignity... One day my mother asked me to run a quick errand for her. "Will you please go knock on Ms. Trudy's door and ask if she can spare a tablespoon of salt for the bread I am baking?" My mother asked. Ms. Trudy lived next door with her two young children. "Why Mother? We have salt. You don't need Ms. Trudy to give you salt," I replied. "Because, since Ms. Trudy was laid off from her job, she is having a hard time making ends meet. Lately, she has needed to ask us for help and I can tell she feels ashamed." My mother explained. "What does that have to do with borrowing salt from her?" I questioned. "Because dear, this way she feels like she has something to give back. Consider it a t...