Fall and Rise

Last weekend was largely devoted to an outreach program I really enjoy helping. The organization is called, “r directions Outreach.” I became involved because my partner and I like to shop at a local Native American gift shop. One day the shop owner explained the non-profit she founded with her son to reach out to Native Americans on the reservations. We began by donating some of the items for the next shipment to New Mexico. Now I serve on the 4 Directions board, so this weekend I attended a working board meeting. I arrived with boxes of clothing, food and bicycles donated by my church. Together we sorted and packed many more boxes for shipping. Then at our meeting we discussed this shipment – we will send a full tractor trailer to South Dakota next week, and two members will fly there to work with the distribution. Then we discussed how to handle our outreach to Abenaki people of Vermont this Thanksgiving. Finally, we talked about how to reach out to the growing number of homeless people in our own city.