MORElove Project Update
Rain City Capital’s $100 Mission has gotten off to a great start in 2016! During the months of January and February, our clients have helped us raise $11,700 for the MORElove Project.
The mission of the MORElove Project is to help as many homeless men, women, and children as possible in the Seattle area by providing food, clothing, housing alternatives and most importantly LOVE. Kristine Moreland, Richard McAdams, and their gang of volunteers have really made a difference in the homeless community—not only through financial assistance, but by providing support, guidance and hope to people in their journey to get back on their feet and off the streets.
The reason I chose Kristine and her charity is because she made me aware of factors I hadn’t considered about being homeless. I personally don’t agree with giving money to panhandlers because I believe it enables them rather than helping them to get out of what might be a difficult situation. My ideas about panhandling are also based on personal experience. I grew up in Seattle, and as a teenager, I was a skater kid who hung out in areas with a lot of homeless people. After school, during the summers and on the weekends I skated around, juggled, flipped, and did skateboard tricks for a Dick’s Deluxe and skateboard trucks. I panhandled because I thought it was fun and I was good at it. I also had food, clothes and a warm bed to sleep in whereas many of my friends didn’t share those same luxuries.
Almost every homeless person I met told me they had made the choice to be homeless. I now know that the story they told me was often times exactly what is was… a story. Through Kristine and her work, I see now that the people I met all those years ago in reality had very limited options – whether they were willing to accept that or not.
Kristine rarely gives anyone a dollar, but she does provide the opportunity for Seattle’s homeless to make the difficult changes in their life, and supports them through the journey of getting off the streets. By partnering with her, I have been able to see first-hand that $100 can truly change a life! $100 can provide a three-night stay in a hotel while Kristine and crew find a more permanent option for treatment, and/or safe lodging for them and their family. $100 can buy an interstate bus ticket for someone just trying to get home. $100 can buy socks, underwear, body wash, and multitudes of other personal items that you and I may take for granted.
$100 can make—and has made—a significant difference in so many lives, and I am thankful to have experienced this first-hand by going out and serving the homeless alongside Kristine.
I am also very thankful for our amazing clients who help us do this and I want to let you know that I appreciate each and every one of you! We intend to prove that later this year, so stay tuned for news about that! $11,700 is an incredible milestone for our first two months, and I hope we can do even more over the next two months.
We are still interviewing possible local and deserving charities for next quarter, so if you have some ideas feel free to reach out and make a suggestion. We are open to all of them!
Thanks again!
– Fred
PS – I know all of you are saying “Can Fred really juggle, skateboard and do flips?” I only have Youtube proof of the flip part, so here you go. I’d suggest skipping to about 2 ½ minutes in, unless you want to see some subpar dance moves. Sorry, babe!