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Post by evanne on Nov 30, 2011 17:42:05 GMT -5
I am thinking people should go to different places on Saturdays to collect food. When people give us food we give them a thank you note letting them know some important things about child poverty, homelessness and all that. Some good slogans communicating how the children growing up in cars phenomenon is a result of putting the profits of banking institutions above the needs of children. Even if the parents make mistakes, should the children have to risk losing their families or living on the streets?
People can wear bright red or something and maybe even ring bells...where do we go? I am thinking of this being diffuse, like the bell ringing change collectors.
Thoughts?
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Post by rwlangbe on Dec 1, 2011 12:34:54 GMT -5
Will we have to form a corporation (501 (c)(3)) to collect donations? Might not be a bad idea, actually. Then we could get donations to help pay for those bells.
Also, we might consider working with an existing charity to accomplish this to help build allies in the community?
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Post by James on Dec 1, 2011 14:51:05 GMT -5
I think this would be a great idea. We could go door-to-door, maybe. Like in southern Palm Bay, or around downtown Melbourne or something. How would we distribute what we get, and to whom? I guess we could hand what we get over to the Daily Bread or C.I.T.A.? I am sure there are other sort of outreach organizations in the area. Those are just the most prominent, that I see.
As far as forming a non-profit is concerned: Do we need(or want)state recognition to do what we want to do?
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Post by evanne on Dec 2, 2011 2:17:04 GMT -5
I want to collect food donations only, so no 501 c3 needed.
I would like to see us support at least one local charity (ones above or the Sharing Center or something like that). I think we should look into which charity will make the best use of our donations. Who is actually going out to feed people, do they have a religious motivation, how effective is their program, etc.?
I would also like to see us donate some food to people in need directly. Mandy and I have talked about looking into laws about feeding the homeless. I do a lot of walking and come across camps regularly. I also have information about two locations where there are, supposedly, homeless families with kids. The parents risk losing kids if they admit to needing shelter. It's fucked. We can package food well and make drops in identified campsites.
Also, if there are any members of the group that are in need we can quietly give some to them.
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Post by James on Dec 2, 2011 10:52:02 GMT -5
We could do a Food Not Bombs style park thing. The targeted drop sounds like a good idea. I am pretty sure most charities in the area have some sort of religious motivation. This isn't a problem for me, but might be for others. But, yeah we should do some research, and maybe visit some locations around town. I will try and do something this weekend...
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Post by Solus Hospes on Dec 2, 2011 11:51:35 GMT -5
I will contact a friend of mine and my eldest sister who use to be involved in things like this and see if either of them has suggestions or info to share. I love this idea and I wonder if we might include a toy drop so even the homeless kids can have Christmas. I'm even willing to do the delivery Christmas eve because I remember what it's like to just want the things you need for Christmas (food, shampoo, toilet paper, warm cloths) and the unmeasurable joy at actually getting something to play with too.
Which also brings me to wondering if these homeless individuals have a steady place to wash their clothes. Maybe we could help volunteer our washers and dryers (or clothes lines) to helping them that way too. Just throwing out ideas.
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Post by rwparkinson on Dec 3, 2011 13:24:05 GMT -5
It is no longer easy to establish a 501C3 non profit corp thanks to the 1%. I looked into making the Space Coast Climate Change Initiative a non profit, however the paperwork and fees are challenging. After some thought, I ended up not filing. We still consider ourselves a non-profit NGO.
In my opinion, there is no reason for the OMF to pursue this type of tax status - certainly not now anyway.
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Post by rwlangbe on Dec 3, 2011 15:15:31 GMT -5
I used the "Brevard County Property Appraisers" map tool to focus in on the corner of Dairy Rd. and Eber Rd. I'm not sure how old the photo on file is, but there is a suspicious number of blue 'tarps/tents' that show up on the satellite map.
We might be able to use the map tool, and then check it out personally with a drive-by and locate a camp.
One idea would be to show up with a foldable table and a grill and have a cook-out. We can use my table and grill. And just invite everyone over. I'm not sure how realistic that is.
I still remember what is was like to have nearly nothing, and would gladly donate what I could to the effort.
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Post by evanne on Dec 6, 2011 5:21:53 GMT -5
These are the ones that seem non-religious. Stop-Gap of North Brevard, Inc. 725 S DeLeon Avenue Titusville, FL 32780 321-383-5633 Project Response - HIV+/AIDS Services 745 S Apollo Boulevard Melbourne, FL 32901 321-724-1177 Sharing Center, Central 113 Aurora Street Cocoa, FL 32922 321-631-0306 Sharing Center, North 4475 S Hopkins Ave Titusville, FL 32780 321-269-6555 Sharing Center, South-Melbourne 17 E Hibiscus Boulevard Melbourne, FL 32901 321-727-8581 Sharing Center, South-Palm Bay 2881 NE Palm Bay Road Palm Bay, FL 32905 321-676-2965 www.seniorresourcealliance.org/InfoByCateg/Food-Meals-Nutrition/FoodPantriesandServices.aspx?wadi=iOFaTT0z012r37ccfd6GRrSR6PIs9WqiREIsolb9i2DJSFQci3SXAw%3D%3DSecond Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida 6928a Vickie Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904 321.733.1600. Fax - 321.733.1651 Devereux Food Pantries 212 Aquarius Ave, Palm Bay, FL 32909 (Can't find any other info.) Storehouse Food Pantry 9390 Central Avenue, Micco, FL 32976 (Can't find any other info.) From connectbrevard.org |
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