Mari commented, on January 1, 2008 at 4:10 p.m.:

My sons (14 and 8) will be putting together lunch/care packages tomorrow at a friend's house. Last year, we went downtown (Chicago) and sort of by accident, ended up passing out fruit to the homeless. My sons and I had such a great experience, that we decided to take it one step further this year.

I told a very spiritual friend about our plan and she offered a cash donation to our project, as well as the hands-on service of her and her grandson to put together the bags. We'll spend the afternoon tomorrow preparing them (items will include food items, hygiene items, services lists, as well as socks, which can be used for many things). We'll take the train downtown on Thursday, then wander the streets looking for people to give our good out to.

As a recovered addict (over 17 years clean), I don't like to give money to the homeless, but I do understand their situation more than many others do. This is a good way for me to help in way that is a bit more long-term. It's also a great opportunity to teach my sons social tolerance and let them see how little things can mean so much to others.