Hey Guys!

After a 4 year marathon hiatus, I am officially gearing up for another finish line!

As with each marathon before, my hope is to use my ability to bring awareness, hope and help to those who are forgotten, marginalized, and/or ignored. I firmly believe every human deserves access to several basic needs: food, clean water, shelter, clothing, healthcare and education. Unfortunately, the majority of this world lacks access to one or more of these basic human needs.

I am teaming up with The Salvation Army to raise $5,000 dollars which will be evenly split between homelessness efforts based in the UK and Ukraine relief efforts. Read below to learn more: 

 Multiple factors feed into the cycle of homelessness. As such, The Salvation Army implements a multimodal approach with various levels of shelter, addiction, mental health, education/job training, food/clothing security, and social support services to meet people where they are at. No one is beyond hope, so let’s help!

Would you consider joining me in supporting the Salvation Army’s efforts to address the multiple causes of homelessness?

Examples of where your donations will go towards:

• $5.50 could provide a welcome pack for a homeless person in one of our residential centers (Lifehouses).
• $14.50 could provide 1 hour of one to one support for a homeless person in one of our residential centers (Lifehouses) to set goals for the future.
• $23 could provide 1 hour of social enterprise training for 3 homeless people in one of our residential centers (Lifehouses).
• $104.50 could help to keep our safe and supportive community centers open all year round, for children and families who are struggling to cope. 

In what way is The Salvation’s Army helping Ukraine relief?

In particular, The Salvation’s Army’s response includes:

• Romania has formed an emergency team, filled the car with essential items and travelled to the border to offer support.

• Moldova will provide free assistance to Ukraine’s displaced people, including temporary accommodation, hot meals and drinks, access to Wi-Fi and other necessary items.

• Poland is preparing relief parcels for Ukrainian people coming into the country.

• Slovakia is preparing to offer accommodation, food and drink, and emotional support.

• The Czech Republic is already home to some 200,000 Ukrainians and anticipates many more of them will seek help from family and friends already in the country. The Salvation Army in Czech Republic has available capacity in residential centers, so they stand ready to provide support.

The Salvation Army in Ukraine reports that officers are sleeping in shelters alongside the communities they serve, but doing their best to offer hope and support.

I began this by mentioning how I am preparing for the finish line. Why finish vs starting line?  Everything in life is about how you finish, not how you start. By providing shelter, safety and hope, we can help others reach their finish lines. Will you join The Salvation Army and I to help? Let's do this!