The Back Pack Thing

Last year my friend Judy Davids and I were "crying over breakfast" about the state of affairs our community was in - mainly job losses (including ours) and foreclosures - bottom line, homelessness. People were losing their jobs and homes and ending up in the streets; some were people we knew, many were strangers. We wanted to help in some way, even though we had both just been effected by "downsizing".

That same night Judy met a man - Roy Watson from the South Oakland Citizens for the Homeless, also known as SOCH Welcome Inn. We knew our mission was to help him and his organization in aiding the homeless in our community, even if only in a small way.



We reached out to our friends at Moosejaw for backpacks and they offered to help in A BIG WAY! The team at Moosejaw decided they would do something really nice and offer 20% off the purchase of a new backpack when an old backpack was donated.

Why Backpacks? Because homeless people need something to carry their personal belongings in. Hundreds of backpacks were donated. THANK YOU ALL!!!

Fast forward to 2010. Once again Moosejaw is doing something nice - and so are a lot of other people, The Bliss Network, Judy Davids, Postegram and me. "Everyday people" are donating backpacks and money to help SOCH Welcome Inn make a difference in our community and you can too!

From August 16 through Augusts 22, bring in a gently used backpack to any of the 5 Southeast Michigan locations of Moosejaw, from Ann Arbor to Rochester, and you will receive 20% off the purchase price of a new backpack - just in time for school! If you're anything like me, you probably have several floating around your house - now you can put them to good use! You'll lighten the load of a fellow traveler. Remember, it could easily be someone you know - a family member, a friend, or a local teenager.

If you can't get to Moosejaw, you can connect with SOCHWelcomeInn.org in Berkley or email me at teri@theblissnetwork.com and I'll send additional drop off locations!