This has been a two trip to Emporia type of day. The first trip was to take Roxy to the Vet to have her stitches removed. The Vet Tech had to lay on the floor as Roxy refused to lay down. We hope she got all the stitches out of the two incisions on Roxy’s tummy. Roxy did well, was given a few treats and made the ride home with no issue. She was happy to jump out of the car when we got home.
The second trip was to go pick up a prescription and to go to The Orchard to get some Jonathan apples. They are the only apples I like and they are not available year round. I will enjoy them while they last. I also picked up a jug of honey and a small apple slush. I couldn’t drink all the slush but Kathy was happy to finish it for me when I got home.
I got deliveries four different times today of things others had purchased off the Amazon Gift Registry as well as things I had ordered. I am attempting to put together a large tote stand. It is going to take a bit to get it done. I will keep working on it in bits and pieces and I will get there. The lids to the totes arrived but the totes themselves are to come tomorrow.
I had ordered some Apple Air Tags and those came in. I want one for my suitcase for my trip in November. I also want to put one in Kathy’s car so I can find her if needed. Not sure what I will do with the other two. Maybe I need to put one on my iPhone somehow so I can find the damn thing. I spend more time looking for it than I do using it.
I agreed yesterday to pay for 170 $10 phone cards for the Detainees as their Christmas present. That works out to $1,700. I also agreed to purchase cheesecake for their Thanksgiving desert. I got home and looked at my balance sheet and realized I had committed all the extra funds Love in Action has on hand right now.
This morning I woke up and found four donors had sent via VENMO or PayPal almost $1,400. One donor had send $1,000. The Universe does provide! I take that as a sign to continue doing what I am doing and to step out in faith knowing the money will show up. I still have extra stamps to send to the Center when they request them. We are down to five Pen Pals so are not using so many emails we have to pay for. The October treats are paid for so think I will slide by for a bit with what we have on hand now. If the Go Bags go quickly in December, I will need $2,010 to order another 100 of them and most of the supplies we put in them. That feels doable as people are so generous and send funds as they can.
I need to do one more count of all the items that were ordered off of the Amazon Gift Registry for the Go Bags. I think most everything has arrived. It is hard to track as some tell me who the package is from and some do not. I want to make sure everything is here so I can notify all the donors the things they ordered arrived. I wish I had email or mailing addresses for all the donors that purchase things off of the gift registry. I am lucky to get a “real” name as some people protect their privacy and order under fake names. I want the donors to know they are appreciated and I can’t do that without information about them.
The one thing we still need for the first 100 Go Bags is more hoodies and sweat shirts, sweat pants and leggings. The bulk place doesn’t stock those. We can pass out bags without them if needed. They will still get a T-shirt, underwear, socks and the ladies will get a sports bra.
Tomorrow I am going to the reception for Jay Whitney. He has been the Captain of the Chase County Detention Center and is the one that allowed Love in Action to be possible. He is leaving it in good hands with Captain Denna Fleshman taking his place. I took Jay out for lunch in August to thank him for all he did for Love in Action and look forward to seeing him one last time tomorrow.
After the reception I am going to Emporia to go to the high school football game if it isn’t raining. Ellexia is cheering and I like to go watch her a few games a year. I don’t attempt to go to all of them. I don’t like driving after dark but sometimes a Grandma has to do what she has to do!
Once I get the tote rack and totes I can sort what we have received so far. I am still waiting on the bulk order to come in with the backpacks, blankets, toiletries, etc. Once that comes in I can schedule the first of several helper parties. The first helper party will be to take all the goods out of the plastic they are wrapped in. The next party will be to wash and dry and make sure all the goods are sorted appropriately by sizes. The last party will be putting the items in the backpacks.
I am hoping everything arrives in the next two weeks so I can get the parties scheduled for the last two weeks of October. I want to have them done before I leave on vacation in November. The week after I get home is Thanksgiving and people will be busy and less likely to come help. We start distribution of the Go Bags the first of December.
If this program is successful, we may have to have three parties a month from now on to help unwrap, wash and sort and then stuff the bags. There is a possibility of needing at least 100 bags a month. If we need more than that, I will have to up the supply of goods to 150 or 200 items at a time. We shall see what happens.
Wonder when ICE will show up in Emporia? I am betting it is next week unless the dogs are called off. I am a notary so if any family needs to make power of attorney decisions so children are taken care of in case a parent or both parents disappear, please reach out to me. I can help draw up the documents and notarize them for you.
I still can’t wrap my head around the why things are happening. We have made it almost impossible for immigrants to become citizens and follow the “law of the land”. There is the written law and then there is the policy. Current policy is to disregard the written law and deport as many as humanely possible in the shortest amount of time. ICE has removed the names of those with a pending deportation order from their rosters of where they are being held so attorneys can’t find them and advocate for them.
I don’t feel like my personal rights will be honored if something should happen and I get picked up. There doesn’t seem to be much priority given to the letter of the law these days.
It breaks my heart to see the comments from privileged white people cheering on what ICE is doing. I guess you can only see what you can see. I just can’t quite comprehend how they can witness what is happening and think it is OK.
Grateful for all the goods sent via the registry, grateful for the donations that show me what I am doing is the right thing to do, and grateful I stand on the side of love.