Team VAP Stay Warm Care Packages and The Tarp House
Team VAP had just come off a successful Holiday giving season for St. Vincent de Paul homeless shelters when another idea was born. With temperatures below freezing for days, how can we help those homeless individuals who were not in the shelters? What did they need and how fast can we get it out to them? Once the idea was hatched, the gears were set in motion and the announcement was made. We had 3 weeks. No pressure.
From our Team Members to our Board Members, our Vendors to our Customers, family and friends, we collected enough items to make 50+ Team VAP Stay Warm Care Packages plus have an entire gaylord filled with extra donated items. During our January Culture Luncheon, our Team celebrated each other, had lunch and then got to work building our Stay Warm Care Packages. Each package contained a blanket, hat, gloves, warm socks, scarf, hand and toe warmers, some snacks, water and a hand-written note of encouragement. We also included in each package a St. Vincent de Paul pamphlet and a listing of local resources such as food pantries and day shelters locations and hours.
The Care Packages looked FANTASTIC in our break area however we needed to get them handed out to those who needed them. On February 2nd, a group of Team VAP Volunteers hit the streets of Dayton looking for individuals who looked like they could use a Stay Warm Care Package.
What an experience this was. I started this trip with only television knowledge of the homeless not knowing how to even spot a homeless individual standing right in front of me. Early in our afternoon our driver found a tarp along a fence line and without hesitation ran towards it, I thought he was crazy! Then he yelled across the way, “There’s nobody home.” I chuckled to myself, home? That’s a tarp! That was my moment of clarity, somebody lived under that tarp? Sure, we all know that some people are homeless, they’re the homeless population, we hear about it on the news. Did you know, though, not having a home isn’t just sleeping on someone else’s couch or floor? Did you know being homeless isn’t always sleeping in a big room with other people who also don’t have homes at a homeless shelter? It was cold outside and once the sun sets, how much colder would it get? The temperature was in the mid 20’s with a low of 11 degrees and this person lives under a tarp. Hopefully we warmed this person’s day with the Care Package we left at their “door.” With a deeper understanding of our goal I started scanning everything, looking for areas that moments ago just blended into the scenery.
Each and every individual we met along the way was very kind and appreciative but beyond that they were just like us, full of personality, appreciation, hope, their eyes full of life. As we gave them Stay Warm Packages, they thanked us, smiled and taught us humility. What a great day to be a part of Team VAP!
A special shout out to our driver Dave. As a retired Dayton Police Officer, his knowledge of the area was outstanding, his compassion was contagious, his bravery was next to none and his patience with my naiveté was appreciated.
Holly Payton
The Exquisite Multitasker