fides quaerens intellectum
Jul 28 2009
Richard Leroy Walters gets a bit more shocking -
An article in the online newsletter of a Catholic mission in Phoenix revealed that Walters died two years ago at the age of 76. He left an estate worth about $4 million. Along with the money he left for NPR, Walters also left money for the mission.
Continue reading “Homeless Man Leaves Behind Surprise: $4 Million”
May 09 2009
I have never been homeless, at least not completely. I have had tough times, sure, but never without a roof over my head – so I cannot fully comprehend what those people who are homeless are going through. It grieves me to even think about.
No, this article has nothing to do with theology, but at it’s heart is the need for the Gospel to be practiced.
Her family was being evicted from their home in Tualatin, a Portland suburb. Her father, Joe Ledesma, a homebuilder for 20 years, was without a job and couldn’t find another. He couldn’t pay the $800 rent on the three-bedroom house where he, his wife Heidi and daughter lived.
And he couldn’t get through to Brehanna as they packed the family’s navy blue 1986 Pontiac Firebird that she would not be able to bring her bed. She would not be able to bring every toy or trinket, or that checkered desk she had spent hours painting and sanding, either.She wanted to bring it all to the next place, she told her dad as she stood in her bedroom filled with packed bags. But the Ledesmas had no new place to go this time.
“I was trying to explain to her there were some things we could take,” Joe said, “and some things we were going to have to leave behind.”
That was in December, when Brehanna joined the unhappy ranks of American children who experience homelessness — a group that includes one child out of every 50 in America, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness.
In the months that followed, the Ledesmas stayed with relatives and lived in shelters and churches as they tried to regain their financial footing — or at least to stay afloat.
Joe spends most days searching for jobs. Heidi, who at 42 is disabled because of severe arthritis in her ankles, shuffles her feet and limps as she tends to domestic duties. She cooks for her family — not in a home, but in the crowded kitchen of an east Portland homeless center.
“I never thought this would happen to us,” she says. “Not in a million years.”
Brehanna — affectionate and playful — has transferred to a new school, one that caters to students who are homeless or in transition.
She remains in many ways a fourth-grader like any other. She sports Hannah Montana sneakers, swings on monkey bars and ties her long, brown hair in ponytails. She boasts she can read as well as an average sixth-grader.
But she has lost some of her innocence. She understands her circumstances, and she can speak frankly in her soft voice about how her family gets by.
“We are having a hard time paying rent,” she tells her reading teacher Mary Weller. She yawned and coughed, battling the second cold she has caught in less than a month at the shelter.
“But if you want to pay rent and you need to get money you can donate blood,” she says. “My dad does that.”
The story is long, but worth reading. Please do at the link above.
Feb 23 2009
I have decided to update this post and send it through a few engines, such as AlphaInventions and Reedit.
As I was watching the local news last night, they featured a story about a father-son duo that teamed up to help a ‘bum.’ They set up a website with a web cam that allows viewers to watch the ‘bum’ as he panhandles. Now, through the website, you can donate money for the things that he needs – such as a GQ magazine, a Blackberry Gold, and a karate lesson:
This is Tim. He’s a real Bum. He lives at Highway 6 and I-10 in Houston, Texas. The more visitors to this site, the more money he makes. Tim receives 100% of the money generated from his WISH LIST to the right. Click on About Tim to see videos of Tim, and visit the Live Cam to see if we are currently broadcasting live from his corner. Find pictures of the operation here. Thanks for stopping by and please spread the word so we can help get Tim off the street. Also, feel free to stop by tomorrow, Tim starts work at 8am sharp! NEWLY ADDED: Donate ANY amount below! Also, Contact us if you have alternative donation offers or a job offer for Tim.
And they offer a disclaimer:
Disclaimer: PimpThisBum.com makes ZERO profit from donations to this website. Funds, will be placed in a trust fund for Tim. Our goal is to give him the boost he needs to get off the street. If you become aware of any job opportunities or if you would like to donate any product or service in this effort, we will gladly display your donation and company logo on this site. Tim appreciates your support. For more information, please contact us.
I have donated and I will ask others to as well, if they can, and if they feel led to. A large group of people giving a small amount will help a great deal.
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