Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
First day at the park
I am a man of assumptions. I can assume anything. I have assumed nearly everything I think I know. And every once in a while I am reminded how foolish I really am. I guess you could call it being humbled. So be it.
As usual I was filled with expectations, assumptions, and fear when I set out today. I was out the door early to feed people. Little did I know what to expect although I was sure I knew exactly what was to happen. We were up around five and downing coffee potent vitamin supplements. It was a cold crisp morning greeting us with an unblemished baby blue sky.
We left around 7:00am and headed directly to the 99 viaducts. There was surely to be plenty of takers there. I gazed around with mixed feelings. On the one hand I wanted to feed these people more than anything but at the same time I was afraid to do so. I can't be sure it was only fear of the unknown. It seemed like there was a little laziness involved, a little hesitation to be reminded of myself, and the fear of crime. We went ahead as planned nonetheless.
We arrived in the Pioneer Park area of this beautiful Seattle only to find it basically desolate. Sure there were people here and there but not many and the crowds seemed more like rowwdy football fans than homeless. After spotting a mission Shraddha suggested we approach the man leaning out the door smoking and ask for some advice. So I did. And advice he gave. He said to park our car in a nearby lot with the back open and we'd surely have some business soon. He was right. It took a few minutes but then they came.
Now, I told you all about the flood of very real emotions I felt. Well, it was nothing compared to what I experienced after we got underway. Soon a line formed and we were tearing through the pancakes and coffe. There were smiles and tahnk yous and God bless yous and all the treats. There were curious onlookers and quick takers. There was the town marshall who seemed to have everyones respect and attention. There was the loud ones and the soft ones, the large and the small. There was one thing in common, however, and that was a genuine gratitude. A heartfelt, although subtle, gratitude. Grime and Gratitude. And Chris had a blast!
As usual I was filled with expectations, assumptions, and fear when I set out today. I was out the door early to feed people. Little did I know what to expect although I was sure I knew exactly what was to happen. We were up around five and downing coffee potent vitamin supplements. It was a cold crisp morning greeting us with an unblemished baby blue sky.
We left around 7:00am and headed directly to the 99 viaducts. There was surely to be plenty of takers there. I gazed around with mixed feelings. On the one hand I wanted to feed these people more than anything but at the same time I was afraid to do so. I can't be sure it was only fear of the unknown. It seemed like there was a little laziness involved, a little hesitation to be reminded of myself, and the fear of crime. We went ahead as planned nonetheless.
We arrived in the Pioneer Park area of this beautiful Seattle only to find it basically desolate. Sure there were people here and there but not many and the crowds seemed more like rowwdy football fans than homeless. After spotting a mission Shraddha suggested we approach the man leaning out the door smoking and ask for some advice. So I did. And advice he gave. He said to park our car in a nearby lot with the back open and we'd surely have some business soon. He was right. It took a few minutes but then they came.
Now, I told you all about the flood of very real emotions I felt. Well, it was nothing compared to what I experienced after we got underway. Soon a line formed and we were tearing through the pancakes and coffe. There were smiles and tahnk yous and God bless yous and all the treats. There were curious onlookers and quick takers. There was the town marshall who seemed to have everyones respect and attention. There was the loud ones and the soft ones, the large and the small. There was one thing in common, however, and that was a genuine gratitude. A heartfelt, although subtle, gratitude. Grime and Gratitude. And Chris had a blast!
It went great!!!
All went well at the first ever aarondwilliams.org's pancakes in
the... We fed appx 30 people and ran out of supplies. Better planning
next time and more full bellies. Hurrah for adworg!!!
the... We fed appx 30 people and ran out of supplies. Better planning
next time and more full bellies. Hurrah for adworg!!!
Sent from my iPhone
Test
Test of the emergency iPhone broadcast system. I just had to see how to post from my phone.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Come Join In!!!
feed someone!!!
Come join in to feed some needy people. www.aarondwilliams.org
aaron@aarondwilliams.org
Come join in to feed some needy people. www.aarondwilliams.org
aaron@aarondwilliams.org
Non-Profit Help!!!
I need some help. As I venture farther into the life of a charity worker I slowly grow in two directions. The first is compassion. The second is concern. What a dichotomy, right? I want to get up early each Saturday morning and feed people. I want to experience all of the warm fuzzies that accompany doing the "right" thing. However, there is a certain air of concern for the means to do so. Not just money. As far as money goes I can give most of what it would take to feed a few people each weekend, but thats not enough. I want to mean something. I want to DO something right in a big way. I dream of leaving something positive behind. And I need some help. I need a crash course in fund raising, charity, and volunteer work. HELP???
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Diary of a dot-org…
This entry to my blog at www.aarondwilliams.blogspot.com will feature a daily entry. I will cover the creation of my dot-org, www.aarondwilliams.org.
The diary will cover all of the tasks that I am doing for the day. The reason for this blog is two-fold. First, I'd like to document everything I do in hopes that my children, family, and friends may one day get something out of it. The second and far more important thing is the need of suggestions. I hope that this blog will be read and suggestions will come my way.
So here it goes…
So far I have completed the following:
- Set up a website with info, news, contact, info, and a way to donate.
- Ordered business cards.
- Started talking with contacts about donations and pledges.
- Started advertising the website on Google Adwords
And that's where I'm at…
Until tomorrow…
Aaron D Williams
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)