First and foremost you need a team of volunteers that will work together to make the event happen.  This event requires planning, taking action, organization, getting the word out and then actually working the day of the event to hand things out.  You need every volunteer that you can get!  So let your intentions be known to all the local churches, charity groups, schools, family, friends, etc. and get them excited about being involved.   Keep an organized list of all that have offered to help so you can call on them when you need them.

1. You need a building that can hold a lot of people like a church, community building, old warehouse, or if you’re in one of the warmer areas a park,  you can even hold a block party, as long as you get a permit from your local city council.

2. You need donations.  Our goal is to give them the materials that they need to stay alive on the streets so you collect clothing, shoes, personal hygiene materials, blankets, coats, underwear, luggage, toys, etc.    ou need to collect ALOT of items so you will do this through businesses and personal donations from the community.

3. You need food. We have a pot luck dinner! This gives all our visitors a  chance to meet those that want to help them make it through the winter.  It also gives those wanting to help, a chance to find out that a lot of the myths about homelessness and poor people are just that... myths! They find out that the majority of these people would do just about anything to get off the street and that most would work, if given the opportunity.

4. We invite employers down to the event to hand out apps and do interviews with the jobless to try and put them back to work.  We also  invite low income housing providers to let those needing housing know of any housing openings.

5. We invite local entertainment groups down to play music, clowns, and magic acts, and the like to entertain during the events.

6. We invite down local medical elements of our community to help those there that can not afford medical care.  We endeavor to have professionals there giving them physicals and attending to their personal immediate medical needs  and vaccinations.  We further try to set them up with appointments with the free health clinics, to take care of their medical problems.

These are just a part of what we do at the events; we also invite motivational speakers, to speak to them.

Making the event work in your community!

You start with the media outlets, Radio, TV, and Newspapers

 

1. Start by getting a list of the media outlets in your community, the best way I've found to do this is to go to your local library to get the lists of all radio, television stations, and newspapers, in your community; this includes the entire Little Shopper \Newspapers. Also to save time you might be able to get a list off your computer.

2. Contact every one of them, no matter what size they are, and let them know that you’re trying to let your community know about your plans to feed and cloth the Poor and Homeless of your community.

3. Contact all the political fractions of your community, from the Mayor, to the different members of the City Council, and ask them for their help, {you might get told no a lot, but eventually, if you persist you’ll get a yes, especially if they happen to be up for re elections} After all it will make them look good to the public.

4. Contact every religious org, in your community weather they be Christian or not, and let them know what your trying to do.{ for you see, this event isn't about religion, its about helping those down and out, regardless of race, creed, or color, or religious views} Its open to anyone that needs help.

5. Volunteers! Are what makes the events work, you might ask yourself were to look for them, to help you do the event in your community? The answer is? Everywhere, from where your employed, to where your kids go to school, to your church, there are thousands of places in your community to get  not only volunteers, but donations of clothes new and used, to food for the pot luck dinner, to companies that will help if you just ask, some of my volunteers come 100 miles to help at our event here in Kansas City. Among them are groups from all kind of places, like hospitals, Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts, different homeless organizations in the community.  The professional side of the community like doctors lawyers and the like, to various civic groups like the Masons and Elks.  Also church congregations from all over our metro area.  You can do the same in your area.

6. In your community there are numerous radio and television community service programs.  Call the stations and speak to the producers of the shows and get booked on their programs.  At the same time, fax all the newspapers in your community and inform them about the event you want to do in your community.  If you can’t get them to do a story, send a letter to their editors and don’t forget the Little Shopper Newspapers.  A lot of times they'll let you send in articles for their papers about local events.

7. And don’t forget the internet and email.  You can get every Church, company, family member, friend, or employer in your community involved by sending them an email and letting them know what's happening.  The ones you can’t email you can fax.  Yes it’s a lot of work, but well worth it.