What are you doing to make the world a better place

[garyo]

As many of you have noticed, my husband Gary enjoys talking about politics. I am a little more hands on if you will, because of my work as a Guidance Counselor. As we get closer to election time I am just wondering what everyone here is currently doing or is willing to do to make the world a better place. I am not asking you to sell your farm and join the Peace Corp. I am just wondering: Are you helping a sick or economically weak friend, neighbor or relative? Have you offered to take a horse for a friend who is struggling to feed it until things improve? Have you offered to give a neighbor a ride to church or the store in the times when gas is so high? Have you helped the miniature horse club in your area by making calls, planning events or volunteering? Have you volunteered at your kids/grandkids school? Have you planted a garden or offered free horse manure to others who are planting gardens? Are you carpooling? You get the idea... No matter who wins the election things could be rough for quite a while to come. This country was founded by people who were willing to bond together to survive. I just hope that when all the bickering is done each of us will step up in our own way, no matter how small to make a difference.

Ruth

 

[Gini]

Ruth I guess I will step up and say what I am doing. My youngest son and his family due to the job situation, and the economy are living in our rental house without paying for rent ,utilities including phone. They also come shopping at our home and there have been many times the fridge down there is bare bones. The family living down there consists of Son, wife, their daughter, son-in-law and their 2 grandchildren. The friend right down the road from me has 4 horses and has lost her job. She is trying to get food stamps but since she works 2 days a week cleaning stalls at a local stable here in town for $60.00 per day for 120.00 per week. That isn't enought to feed her animals, pay the utilities ,put gas in her truck for trips to the job and have enough food for herself. This woman does get social security of 425.00 per month. I would sure hate to try and live on that amount. Without embarrasing her DH and I have taken bales of hay to her and accepted garden grown veggies in exchange. I feel it is all of our responsibility to help our family and neighbors if we can. If this every happens to me I hope someone would extend a helping hand!

 

[Danielle_E.]

At this point I am sponsoring 3 children through World Vision. Two are in Africa and one is in South America. Makayla, my grandaughter and I send each child letters and small treats that can fit in envelopes and Makayla enjoys receiving letters back from them. Two of the 3 children are Makayla's age , 6 years of age. I am trying to instill in her that she is a very lucky little girl to not have to want for anything, especially food, and that there are children and families around the world that need our help. I have a single mom at work, a mother of 4 children, the youngestw is less than 2 years old and I was thinking the other day that it must be very difficult for her especially at Christmas time. She receives no help at all from her ex-spouse. He is a deadbeat dad, doesn't work.... Anyways I have decided, along with another co-worker who I spoke to last week, to provide Christmas for them without her knowing it's us. We are going to ensure that the kids get a couple of gifts each to open and we are going to give her a money card for a grocery store that is close to where she lives. We don't want her knowing who this is coming from so Alison and I will wrap everything up and put it in her office after she leaves for the day so that she doesn't know who did it. We don't want to make her feel embarassed, hence the reason for the secrecy. This year through the United Way (payroll deduction) my donation was split in half, some to the cancer society and the other half to a cat rescue that is up the road from me. I would love to volunteer my time but at the moment I am unable to as my plate is overflowing, lol. Being that my daughter is a single mother, we built my daughter an apartment here as part of our house. I babysit my grandaugher daily when I get home from work, until my daughter gets home as she works shifts. So between my job, my grandaughter, my animals, doing my husbands bookeeping for his business, it leaves me very little time for anything else so I do what I can with donations.

A few years ago I took in a rescue horse who is going to be 31 years young but unfortuntely I am thinking that it is time to help her cross over. I may take in another as my full size horse Shafeena has become very attached to Shari and will more than likey mourn her buddy so I am opened to taking in another that needs some love and attention.

 

[Sonya]

We are considering a temp transfer. Husband and I are considering a one year tour in Afghanistan working under the Department of Defense. Our duties there would include working military and civilian flights and revamping their Air Traffic Control System. It is a very very big descision, it's very dangerous there, even for civilians.

On the homefront, this year I am sponsoring two families for the holidays..buying gifts and groceries for them.

 

[Intexas2stay]

I think that the world is better with better people in it. SO I have started with me. Improving me is where I have started to change the world!

 

[CyndiM]

We have been delivering groceries to three churches in a small town in southern Iowa which was devastated by the flooding this June.

My husband butchers and we had about 500 LBS of pork that he took down on Tuesday. Then on Friday he took 16 bakery trays of bread, buns, bagels etc to them along with 50 LBS of flour, 50 LBS of potatoes, a bushel of apples and several gallon cans of veggies.

Now some of this was also donated. A hog farmer near here knows that we have given pork away for many years to people who may be having rough times, so he gave Steve 8 hogs to butcher for these people. An Amish man, who owns a grocery store in our community, gave him the potatoes, flour and apples. He had also sent a group of men down there to help with the rebuilding. Steve went in to buy these items and the man asked what he was doing with so much (knowing it was just him and me now) so Steve told him and he asked if he could donate it?

I have been running the soccer concession stand by myself for the past 6 years and giving all of the money to our high school to build a permanent stand with running water and bathrooms. I buy all of the merchandise that is sold in the stand too.

Every year we take pork to the school and give it to the principal so he can give it to families he knows needs it. I also buy mittens and stocking knit caps and take them to the schools in my area so they can pass them out to children who don't have any or 'forgot them'.

With the exception of the church ladies, the Principal, School District Superintendent and now the Amish man no one knows we are the ones doing this and that is how we want it. We are NOT doing any of this for kudos we are doing it to help someone less fortunate than we are.

Our way of paying it forward.

 

[Shari]

Lets see when I was healthy and not a dented person. I would help any of my friends or their friends in need. When we lived at the Farm in WA.. I had a number of friends. We would have our monthly tea and talk but inbetween that.. if they needed help say with their sheep or horses.. I would come over and help out. One friend had her all but 5 feet of her intestins removed....the animals we not taken care off , so I got my husband and a good friend together and cleaned out her barn.. animals were standing in a good two feet of manure. Got the animals cleaned up and going well... then had a talk with the husband. Luckly it never got that bad again...but I could understand how worried he was and let the animals go. I was there to sit and talk any tme she needed and or help ith the animsl, her church brought her family meals for months. It was sad to see how many of her friends said they would help...knew she needed help but didn't.

I have also.... when I could...either Vol. ,, give money or food to the food bank. Many times some of the local elders would get the extra food,, which there was a lot from our old farm. I loved passing on some of the book...a number of them so liked to read.

Now because of what happened, the best I can do at this point is give money or food... to make sure at least a couple of elders that have no one, on a fixed income, can eat. I want to be able to drive for the "meals on wheels" but my body is not quite there yet.

I give prints of my work when I can afford(have to buy my own prints), to causes I believe in, have two out there now.

This Farm is not producing much in the way of Veggies or fruit yet. But we did have some super giant pumpkins, one of our older friends who has a couple of young grandchildren is coming over this afternoon to get one of the giant pumpkins. She just went through Cancer and is now in remission. It is not much.. but if a gaint pumpkin can put a smile on their faces for just a little while..is worth it.

There are always little things we do to help when we can.