Shoes
for Folks in Honduras
This project started by Guf and Mary Guffey is taking on a life of it’s
own Basically, you can purchase a new or near new pair of shoes, for
female or male, or for children for between 50 to 75 cents plus a contribution
for in-country distribution . The Guffeys will pick them up and deliver
them to the disaster warehouse in Decatur, they get put on the storm
relief container and delivered to the warehouse in La Ceiba. What a deal.
If you are interested, get the money to Sharon Bowie checked marked for
Guffey’s shoe fund, and let the Guffeys know what you want.
So far they have $600 with a goal of $750. Remember you get to say where
the shoes go. They plan to put in their order the first week of Jan.
What a great program.
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I hope that everyone is aware that in response to the
recent floods and mudslides in Honduras, AHMEN is planning on sending
a second container that will be specifically designated for Storm Relief.
Hopefully we will have a container full of food, clothing, and household
items by early to mid January. The container will be loaded out of the
disaster warehouse in Decatur. Bro Ray Crump (RayLCr@aol.com )
is the responsible person for this effort. Please coordinate with Ray
about any collections of materials that you might have.
Over the past few years I have become
ever more convinced that God’s hand is always
active in our lives and He is continually providing
us with opportunities to serve His cause here on
earth. It just so happens that when we spoke with
select groups of the three churches in Auburn that
continually provide assistance to AHMEN, a person
unknown to us spoke up and asked if we felt that
those people stricken by the flooding could use new
or slightly used shoes. Our answer was, of course, “yes!” This
has led us to Soles4Souls ( http://www.soles4souls.org/ ). This
is a wonderful ministry that is headquartered in
Nashville, Tennessee. But their national distribution
center is right here in Alabama in Roanoke (that’s
about 20 miles from our home).
We have been in contact with S4S regarding
acquiring up to 1500 pairs of shoes for inclusion on
the relief container. Since we are considered local,
we would be able to pick up the shoes and thereby eliminate
the $1 -$2.00 per pair shipping and handling charge.
There would still be a basic processing charge of $.50
- $.75 per pair for the shoes. At this point we have
$100 of money that has been donated to the relief effort
that can be used to acquire these shoes. Mary spoke with
Tom this morning and he has pledged to pay for shoes
for all the kids in the Limon Nurture Program. He suggested
that others within AHMEN might be willing to donate funds
to cover the basic processing costs of these shoes. Some
of you might recall that we used a similar approach a
little over a year ago to raise funds for the surplus
tables and chairs that are now used in the Limon Nurture
Program.
So here is the proposal. If you would like to donate any amount of money
to this shoe project, then send a check to Sharon Bowie / 516 Ridgeview
Drive / Jasper, AL 35504. Please designate the “shoe program” in
the memo section on the check. Also send Mary an e-mail indicating how
much money you are contributing. Right after Christmas, we will
then go and get the shoes from Roanoke. All monies that are received
will be used to purchase shoe for general distribution by Sister Eleanor
unless otherwise specified. If however someone wants to designate the
destination of the shoes (such as Tom’s desire to provide shoes
for the kids of the Nurture Center) then be certain 1st to
provide enough money to provide shoes for everyone at that destination
and 2nd to include extra money to help in the cost of in-country
distribution.
This is an excellent opportunity to
provide much needed assistance to the people of Honduras
during this time of great need. S4S requires considerable
evidence of compliance however. They require that we
provide a report of exactly where and how the shoes are
dispensed. This must include pictures and written descriptions. As
a result we will need to provide Cruzadas with a proportion
of the total funds to help offset their costs.
I hope that each of you will consider this opportunity. We will pick
up the shoes, box them according to type and designation, and hold them
here until time to load the container. We will then deliver them to Decatur.
Our reasoning for holding the boxes of shoes here is to avoid potential
rodent damage at the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur.
Thanks, guf |
