I know I've been radio-silent for a little bit, but I don't want you to think I'm going to let this blog die. So, keep coming back!
While our trip has been rescheduled for just after Thanksgiving, and our suitcases are still packed and ready to go, I've been busy cooking up other ways to give back in my head, and I'd like to share one of them with you today. I think after our trip is done, and I've updated everyone on how things went, I'd like to use this blog as a platform to introduce you to, or highlight ways, in which we as a collective, can give to those in need in small, easy and affordable ways.
So, let me start with this one.
A few days ago I was at Target do to my normal grocery shopping and walked past the Halloween aisle, with all its 90% off glory. I didn't really find anything that interested me, but there was an entire shelf of Halloween themed cake mixes. Normally priced at $1.69 (ish), they were included in the 90% off sale, making them 12 cents. That's right, I said 12 cents. Humm, I thought. With all the food donation barrels out around town, I could pick up a few and drop them in. Someone would eat this for 12 cents. So, I picked up 44 of them, put them in my cart, and kept on walking. I did take a picture and post my find on Facebook, hoping someone else would do the same thing I was.
I little walking later I ran into an end cape with Halloween cereal, normally $2.66 per box, marked down to $1.66. However, being as it was Halloween themed, I picked up a box, found a price scanner, and learned it was really only $0.26 per box. And, bonus time folks, it was a General Mills cereal, and I had coupons for those.
On my first trip through the register, I was able to purchase 44 cake mixes and 24 boxes of cereal for 6.52 + tax after coupons. After taking those out to my car, I decided I couldn't let the rest sit on the shelves and went back for them all. Grand take was 70 boxes of cake mix and 53 boxes of cereal.
I asked for ideas as to where to take the items, and my friend Kelly from my local M.O.M.S. Club suggested Kansas City Rescue Mission. www.kcrm.org They were in desperate need of food, and would really be able to use what I had. I called them up, and yes in fact, they would be so excited to have this donation. I told them my husband would drop it off the next morning on his way to work, and we were set. I decided to do a little more reading about them on their website, and learned they are a men's shelter downtown serving the needs of those down there who need a bed and a meal for the night, but also offer more long term help and solutions. I added some basic toiletries like shave gel, body wash, lotion, and a brand new diabetes testing kit my husband had received at a health fair to the donation pile, and we were set.
The next day Paul from the shelter called to once again thank us for our donation. The shelter is grateful for the donation. I'm happy to have helped fill a need, and even more excited that I was able to stretch my dollar and make it work for those really in need.
Please consider looking around your Target for the super cheap food stuffs and donating them to a shelter in your area. You certainly don't have to buy them all, but even just a few cake mixes, cereal boxes, or other items are an affordable donation anyone can do. Just drop them in one of the many food donation barrels blanketed across your city, and make a difference. Be sure to comment here with what you're doing to help out.
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