Another cool rainy day. I have a little pond in my side yard from all the water. Unfortunately there are lots of spots that got dug up either by the dogs or from the construction of the addition that have turned into mud pits. We have kept the dogs inside today and they are not too happy with us. They didn’t enjoy getting sprayed by the hose to get the mud off of them either but not sure they understand that is what will happen again if we let them go in their muddy pen.
I went to Council Grove and met a dear friend for lunch. Always a good day when I get to have a deep conversation with a friend.
I had sent my attorney a note asking about liability if I expand Love in Action to having direct contact with Detainees. I was especially concerned about liability if we transport them and an accident happened. In these days of conflict, I needed to make sure someone couldn’t sue me for liability.
My attorney doesn’t deal with this as his specialty so he passed me on to a colleague. The attorney that called does pro bono work for detainees and has a soft spot for the work I am doing. She was very easy to talk to and very helpful. She was going on about the responsibility that will come if I do a non-profit and I asked a few questions. She asked me what I had done before I retired as I had knowledge about LLC, S Corps, etc. It does help that I have dealt with this type of thing before.
She recommended that I file for a state non profit status. I will be assigned a state ID number and then I could open bank accounts and VENMO accounts under the name of Love in Action. That will keep it out of my personal accounts for lots of reasons. It would shield me from liability if something were to go amiss. The law firm typically charges up to $2,000 to do all the paperwork but she is going to do it for less than $500. Not sure how long it will take but she thought she might be able to have papers ready for me to sign before I leave for India the 8th. I told her it could wait till I got home if needed.
She is also going to draft a wavier that both the detainee and volunteer will sign if we house or transport them. This will protect the volunteer from liability.
As we were talking, she recommended I make the vision statement or goal of Love in Action to be very broad and not specify that it is for the care of Detainees. They are starting to see retaliatory measures taken against non-profits that care for the undocumented and detainees from IRS and other government regulatory departments. Again, taking this out of my personal accounts will help protect me if that should happen.
If this program continues to grow in the future, it might get big enough that I need to file for a 501 c3 status but that is a long way away. It has already grown more than I anticipated. We have raised over $8,000 now and I don’t see an end to that in the near future.
Still haven’t heard from the Captain of the Center to find out if this extension of our project is feasible from his end. He usually gets back to me promptly but may be out of the office at meetings or vacation. If I don’t hear back from him by the first of next week I will call him and see where he is at with all this.
I am exploring burner phones that we would give the Detainee to help them get home. I am ignorant of how they work and have been doing research on them. I guess you have to buy the phone plus a cell service SIM card of some sort. Makes sense I guess but I still have lots to learn. I am anxious to find out how many people we might be helping. If it is only a couple a month this will be doable but if the numbers are higher than that we will either have to raise lots of funds or limit what we can offer. It sounds like a burner phone plus a SIM card would be around $50 each time. Any experts out there that can help educate me?
I found a lady that will build and install a little pantry Blessing box in my yard. She thinks she has enough scrap lumber that she won’t need to buy anything to make it. She mentioned I might need a permit from the city to install it. I called the city but it was after 4:00 so I left a message. I should find out tomorrow if I need to file a permit before I can have it installed. Man, sometimes these simple ideas turn complicated. She is going to give the project some thought and get back to me with questions if she has any. We know a mutual friend and I told her he would vouch for me that I will pay her. I gave her the green light to proceed. Not sure how long it will take her. I’m going to be gone for two weeks soon so won’t be around to keep it full so no real rush to get it up before I get back from India.
The new addition shower faucet and shower head came in today. Phil is going to be here working tomorrow. I don’t understand the process and what gets done when. It is fascinating to me to watch him work and see the order things are done in. I need to have him give me the floor measurements tomorrow so I can go purchase the flooring I picked out and get it put on hold so it will be ready for him when he is ready for it.
Tomorrow is an empty space day for me. I do have a few more things I need to take care of before my trip to India. Maybe I can get a few more things crossed off my list tomorrow. I do need to go up to the Courthouse and vote.
Kathy has a pulmonary test Thursday so can’t go to Wichita with me. I will go late morning and go to Costco before the car appointment at 12:45. I trust the fix is fairly easy and won’t require leaving the car for a long time. I will have to find a way home if that is the case. Kathy will take my car to her appointment and I will drive her car to Wichita.
Friday I take both dogs to the Vet to get their annual checkup and shots. Kathy said she would go with me so it will be easier for me to handle both dogs. They do well on their leashes now but they are a handful to handle both alone, especially when they see other dogs which is likely in a Vet’s office.
No plans for the weekend. I have a haircut on Monday so will need to go to Emporia for that. Maybe I can finish up my errands after my haircut. I still need to get 78 more gift cards for the Detainee Christmas project. I would like to have all those in my hands before my trip. By the time I get back the stores will be busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas shoppers. They take a bit of time for the clerk to ring them up and I don’t like taking that much time when someone is waiting in line behind me. The lady yesterday told me I could get up to 50 at a time. That is 30 more than I was told before.
This week feels like it has been productive already. I got a lot done yesterday and even today feel like some steps were taken forward. I do much better when I feel like I got something done at the end of the day. I have been able to stay above neutral and that always helps.
Am struggling to sleep lately though and that is getting old and wearing me down. I am hopeful every night that tonight will be the night I sleep around the clock and most nights it is 3:00 or after before I fall asleep and I usually only sleep good for about two to three hours before the wake – sleep – wake cycle begins.
It still amazes me how things flow when I give up control or expectations of how things might proceed. The Universe does come through for me in ways I cannot explain. The key for me is to stay out of the way and to act when I feel the call to action.
Grateful for a caring and compassionate attorney, grateful for a dear friend I can share with, and grateful for how the Universe has my back.