By AJ
A few months ago,
Kenneth Smith was homeless and a stranger gave him an Outback Steakhouse gift card to buy dinner. While eating at a location in Fort Worth, he met the managing partner,
Laura Hodges. She helped him with some meals, then gave him a job busing tables, and helped him find a place to live.
That led to more generosity from the community from clothing to a donated bike so he could get to and from work.
By AJ
Pam and Gary have been fostering kids for years, but they had never discussed adoption.
Until Pam saw a story on Facebook about 7 siblings in need of a permanent home. They had been in foster care for a year since their parents had been killed in a car accident.
So, she tagged her husband in the post. She thought about them all day. That evening I asked my husband if he d seen the post, Pam recalled. Yes , he said. We should adopt them . My heart stopped. We should , I said.
“Who would keep them all together? Who would have the space for them? Who would have the time, and the love, and the patience for their trauma? The answer was clear. we would.
By AJ
Mar 17, 2021
Every morning, when Steven Nava went to work, he’d see someone sleeping in their car in a parking lot. Then one day he realized the man was his former substitute high school teacher, José Villaruel, also known as Mr. V. José stopped working once the schools went to virtual sessions last year, and has since become homeless.
“I spoke to Mr. V, and he told me that the only source of income was a monthly Social Security check, and that most of that money was sent to his wife who is very ill in Mexico.
After getting Mr. V set up in a hotel, Steven asked his community for help, and also started a GoFundMe that has raised $27,000 so far.
“The drive to Vermont is 6 hours and tempura broccoli obviously will not taste the same after the long ride. I reached out to Ekiben's owners to see if there was a way for us to either get the recipe to cook it for her.”