By Susan Parma | President
I’m particularly excited to write this report to you today. Last time I told you about a young man in one of the shelters we serve. He was a big boy for his age, was staying in the shelter because his family was in danger, and yet, he was uncommonly kind – and I wondered how such a wonderful young man could come from a violent home. Somewhere along the way, someone had taught him how to be a friend and how important kindness is.
Skip to Christmas. When I was visiting my family in Portland OR, I mentioned this fact - and that I was heartbroken that this young man (probably middle school age) was wearing shoes that were too big with broken shoelaces. I was frustrated that he didn’t have decent shoes to wear, nor did he even have laces to tighten his shoes.
Children who come to the shelters we serve – frequently are fleeing their homes and come with very little or no notice. Also, the young mothers at Nexus are often there because the courts have ordered them into treatment rather than prison. When the mothers are moved from jail into Nexus, their children are brought to the center to receive education and counseling – because they too are the victims of drug abuse, neglect and violence.
Fast forward to now.
You can’t imagine how thrilled I was to receive 4 large boxes of donated clothing and shoes from Nike. We have the tiniest Nike’s for our toddlers, boys and girls shoes for young children, as well as larger sizes for the big boys and girls all emblazoned with the famous Swoosh. There are enough Nike shirts in various sizes to make up teams and the clothing is fashionable – an important fact for the older children.
Our first delivery was to Nexus Recovery Center – but we have spread this generous donation from Nike among the 3 shelters we serve. Genesis Women’s Shelter was yesterday and our last delivery is today to The Family Place.
I will say that the genuine gratitude from everyone to whom I have delivered is overwhelming. When they see all the shoes and clothing, they are just stunned by Nike’s generosity.
I have attached a link and some photos of Dance to Live board members sorting clothing. Nothing we show has compromised the security of the Mothers and their children. As you know, frequently we are limited from showing photos by safety and security issues.
We will be receiving some photos from Nexus and Genesis and The Family Place – so stay tuned for our next report. I have been honored to make these deliveries and there are not enough words to express our gratitude to Nike and the IHM division which made this all possible.
As always, we extend our gratitude to those of you who so generously reach out to those less fortunate than we. For every Mom we lift up, for every child we keep safe, we are making a better world together.
Again, in gratitude, I thank you for remembering Michelle and her love of dance and yoga – by assisting Dance To Live to provide smiles and laughter, learning and cooperation, balance and discipline – and a feeling of worthiness to the children we serve.
Susan Parma – Susan.Parma@DanceToLive.org
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