his is Nancy’s story. The Salvation Army was looking for volunteers to “man” the food trucks that went out into the neighborhoods of Detroit. So, I volunteered and was on a food truck within a week. There were four of us (one of us was a photographer), two to serve and one to drive.The meals being served were quite complete with food that had been prepared in The Salvation Army kitchen in downtown Detroit.
What amazed me was where the homeless people lived. We would pull up to an abandoned building with the windows broken out and surrounded by litter. When the people heard the truck, out they came.
There were single people, old people and families with children. I don’t know how they lived in those buildings, but they were living there. They came out happily and eagerly, especially the children. We were advised not to touch the people, but I couldn’t resist. How could I hand them a plate without giving their hand a soft touch?
They noticed too. There was nothing to be afraid of. They were beautiful and it was my privilege to serve them. We spent about four hours driving through a planned route. The truck did not go to every neighborhood every day, but the people seemed to know when to expect it.
This photo, which appeared in the Detroit News in the Fall of 2010, shows a player adjusting his helmet so another player could use it. The article went on to explain that the high schools in the City of Detroit did not have access to the amount of funding required to allow those students, who wanted to enter a sport, to do so due to the lack of proper equipment and salaries for coaches.
All our children and grandchildren, who attended suburban schools, participated in various sports which were adequately funded.
We were moved by the injustice of the situation in Detroit. Thus, began a ten year adventure for Nancy and me that still persists to this day.
The closest Detroit high school to our home was Henry Ford High School which was fifteen miles away. We called the school and asked to speak to the athletic director. We told him we had seen the story in the paper and wanted to help. After meeting with him, we met with the head football and basketball coaches.
We purchased new cleats, jerseys, pants, helmets and varsity jackets for the football players and appropriate equipment for the basketball players. The 2011 team went undefeated in the regular season and played in the city championship game at Ford Field. I became the special teams coach for the football team and remained in that capacity from 2010 through the 2012 season.
We also established an academic jacket award for the top 20 students in the senior class. The jackets were awarded at a banquet attended by the families of the winners. Fifteen of the academic award winners were girls.
Upon leaving high school, two of the football players fell into homelessness and very hard times. One of them lived with us for three years before joining the Navy. For the last nine years, we have been helping both of them and although their lives are still a struggle, they are moving forward.
After giving birth to our son, my wife’s vision started to get worse. She was already wearing glasses, but it suddenly got really bad. I couldn’t stand to see her suffering.
So, I took a second job and accepted some online work, as well.
I worked day and night and couldn’t get any proper sleep the whole year. Finally, I saved up enough money for corrective eye surgery.
My wife recently returned from the hospital and she was amazed at how clearly she could see everything.
The past year was tough on me, but I do not regret it one bit, because now I have a healthy son and a happy wife.
They are the most important people in my life.
What sacrifices are you willing to make so that your spouse can have a better life?
When police found Fred Barley, 19, living in a tent on the campus of Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia, they were prepared to evict him. Then they heard his story.
Barley had ridden six hours from Conyers, Georgia, on his little brother’s bike, carrying all his possessions—a duffel bag, a tent, two gallons of water, and a box of cereal—in order to enroll for his second semester at the school as a biology major. He’d arrived early to look for a job, but no luck.
“I’m like, ‘Man, this is crazy,” Officer Richard Carreker told ABC New York. Moved by Barley’s plight, Carreker and his partner put Barley up at a motel on their own dime. Word spread, and soon people donated clothes, school supplies, funds to cover the rest of his motel stay—he was even given a job at a pizzeria.
And then there was Casey Blaney of Barnesville, who started a GoFundMe page for Barley after spending time with him. “I thought, Geez, this kid just rode a 20-inch little boy’s bike six hours in 100-degree weather. He’s determined,” she wrote on her Facebook page. The fund reached $184,000, all of which is going into an educational trust for Barley.
I lost my leg when I was 19. I was dating a girl at that time and we were very much in love. After a while, she suddenly decided to move abroad, claiming that she wanted to earn some money for us.
I wanted to believe her, but was convinced that she was lying. I told her we needed to break up and that it would be better for her.
One month later, my doorbell rang. I took my crutches, opened the door and there she was. I didn’t even manage to get a word out before she slapped me and I fell down.
She kneeled down beside me, hugged me and said, “You’re an idiot! I didn’t run away from you. We’re going to the hospital tomorrow and there’s a prosthesis waiting for you. I went abroad to earn money so you’ll be able to walk again — do you understand?”
I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn’t utter a single word — I just hugged her tightly and cried. (Brightside.me)
When police found Fred Barley, 19, living in a tent on the campus of Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia, they were prepared to evict him. Then they heard his story.
Barley had ridden six hours from Conyers, Georgia, on his little brother’s bike, carrying all his possessions—a duffel bag, a tent, two gallons of water, and a box of cereal—in order to enroll for his second semester at the school as a biology major. He’d arrived early to look for a job, but no luck.
“I’m like, ‘Man, this is crazy,” Officer Richard Carreker told ABC New York. Moved by Barley’s plight, Carreker and his partner put Barley up at a motel on their own dime. Word spread, and soon people donated clothes, school supplies, funds to cover the rest of his motel stay—he was even given a job at a pizzeria.
And then there was Casey Blaney of Barnesville, who started a GoFundMe page for Barley after spending time with him. “I thought, Geez, this kid just rode a 20-inch little boy’s bike six hours in 100-degree weather. He’s determined,” she wrote on her Facebook page. The fund reached $184,000, all of which is going into an educational trust for Barley.
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