Bringing HOPE!

Making a difference and bringing hope to a family or even a single person is not something that happens overnight but it is an ongoing process that takes time and resources. One of the events that the Dallas Leadership Foundation does yearly is a Christmas outreach called Treasures of Hope. This is a Christmas store that is out together and allows families to be able to purchase gifts for their family at a discount of 75%-80%. However, this is a process that does NOT happen overnight or even in a month.

This is the first time that I will be participating in helping with the treasure of hope since I just arrived to Texas at the end of August and this is my 2^nd event with the Dallas Leadership Foundation. I was told going into this program that it was a big event that took a lot of time but I didn’t realize how big it was or how much time is put into it until now and I still don’t know the full understanding of how much goes into this event since there’s still a lot to be done.

So, what has been going on so far?

Last Wednesday, November 13, we had to move everything from our big warehouse into the Plaza of America where the store will be taking place. This was no simple task and we kept running into bumps in the road. We had attempted and planned on moving into the Plaza on the 2^nd but then found out that there weren’t enough people to help move so it got postponed and changed. The date was then changed to move into the Plaza on the 9^th but on the 8^th we found out that we wouldn’t have enough people to move in again and that the moving trucks were not going to be available that day. So, the move ended up taking place on the 13^th but it still didn’t go as planned and anticipated since there wasn’t many people to help make the move. However, the move had to happen so there were about 15 guys that stayed out till midnight helping to pack up everything from the warehouse and move it all into the Plaza of America.

Before things were moved into the Plaza

In the process of moving things into the Plaza

All the bikes moved into the Plaza

Unloading things and moving them into the Plaza on a cold night (2 moving trucks full)

Some merchandice that needs priced moved into the Plaza

Moving everything into the Plaza was just the start to getting the store together and preparing for the families to be able to shop for their loved ones and have a Christmas that may not be possible without the help that is provided through the store. Now that everything was moved into the Plaza of Americas, it was time to start getting things ready to get the merchandise for the families to purchase. The first step for this was to pick up boxes to assemble to give out to various organizations and churches to collect merchandise. So, last Saturday (November 16^th) about 15-20 people came out to the Plaza of America from 10-2 to help put together the boxes. About 50 boxes were completed and assembled on Saturday and are being distributed this week to the organizations and churches that wanted a box to help collect merchandise, toys, clothes, etc to help make the store possible and to help reach as many families as we can.

The finished toy boxes that will be delivered to collect merchandise for the store

Box Assembly Day: Ann-Marie and myself prepairing the paper to be wraped inside the toy boxes (Photo thanks to Stephanie Howard)

Box Assembly Day: myself, T-Ray, Ann-Marie, and Kirk (Photo thanks to Stephanie Howard)

Now that the boxes were assembled and started to be distributed, we had a day today (November 20^th) where Home Depot came out to the Plaza of America to help assemble bikes that will sold in the Christmas store.  There were about 9 people from Home Depot that gave up there day today to assemble 124 bikes. These are bikes that would originally cost $80 or so and will be sold to the families attending the Christmas store for about $15.

Thanks to the help of Home Depot, those that came out on Saturday, and the men that stayed out till midnight, we will be able to help give families a Christmas that they may not have had if it weren’t for the partnerships and help that we have had. As the title says, we are bringing hope to these families and with the help of everyone; there will be many happy kids and families this Christmas season. The people I mentioned are not the only one helping in making the Christmas store possible but there are many others that are apart of making the store possible and giving up time and resources to help impact the lives of many families (last year they were able to help about 700 families and right now we have over 500 families registered to shop at the store).

Home Depot group putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes (tricycles)

All of the bikes assembled thanks to Home Depot (picture taken by T-Ray Manley)

The Home Depot team and the finished bikes (picture taken by T-Ray Manley)

This is ministry and this is making an impact. We are bringing hope to the families we serve yet there is a lot of behind the scene work that has to be completed in order to get to the finished product, which is the store and giving families the experience of being able to shop and buy gifts for their families during this Holiday season. Being able to see even a single life changed through this entire process is worth all of the work that is going into making this store possible and I look forward to being able to journey with the Dallas Leadership Foundation in this process!

You as the reader please be praying for this outreach and for all of the work that is still to be done. Pray for people to give to the boxes so that we are able to reach more families and impact the lives of families this Holiday season. Pray for everyone that is busy and overwhelmed with work and that God would continue to remind us all why it is that we are doing this and have been working on this for months now. It doesn’t happen overnight but it is a process. Ministry doesn’t happen overnight and impacting a life doesn’t happen overnight and this is a prime example of what goes into making the end result possible!