Donald lost his mom and was diagnosed with cancer, and these two events happened very close together. His brother and two nephews were living with him, but his brother was unemployed. They could not afford the mortgage they inherited from their mother.

Donald reached out to Love INC to request help because his well ran dry. This is not an issue Love INC typically helps with. The Clearinghouse did an Intake and Verification for him anyway, because there are almost always things that can be done, whether the original request can be met or not. A job packet was sent to his brother, to give some ideas of how and where to search for employment.

When Site Visit Volunteers met Donald at his home, they discovered that the mattresses the family were using were old, stained, and had an odor. The Furniture and Appliance Ministry delivered new beds, allowing them to have clean mattresses to sleep on. They also provided new bedding for each one. Once the beds were delivered, a Clearinghouse Volunteer followed up to ensure they had been able to get the well fixed. It had been, and there were no more needs for Love INC to fulfill.

A clean mattress and new bedding sometimes feels like such a small thing in light of everything Donald is dealing with. But when you shift perspective a bit, it is powerful. There wasn’t much that Love INC could do for Donald. The impact of a kind word, of doing what CAN be done, of providing a small comfort for a suffering person – those are things that cannot be measured. There are interactions like this happening every day. Your partnership means that people that reach out will be met with compassion, support, resources, and education to the best of our ability, every time they call. In whatever capacity it can be done.

Explore how your talents can help meet a need! Call (352) 245-8774 today to find out more about how you can be involved in life transformation in your community.