Fall 2022 Newsletter
“If you haven’t got charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”
Have you ever wondered what spending $1,121.70 at Target will get you? Well, let me tell you. Comet Cleanser, Lysol Disinfectant Spray, Pampers Boys Pull-Ups, Dreft Liquid Laundry Detergent, Bounce Fabric Softener, Witch Hazel Wipes, Libman Angle Broom with Dustpan, Pampers Baby Wipes, Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo, Pine-Sol Cleaner, and Clorox Liquid Bleach.
Cascade ActionPacs Dishwasher Detergent, Glad Kitchen Trash Bags, Gain Liquid Detergent, Gain Dryer Sheets, Hefty Trash Bags, Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Bounty Paper Towels, Dove Bar Soap, Clorox Bathroom Cleaner, Dawn Dishwashing Liquid Dish Soap, Charmin Toilet Paper and Johnson’s Baby Oil.
Dove Women’s Deodorant, Vaseline Cocoa Body Lotion, Colgate Toothbrushes, Huggies Disney Frozen Girls Pull-Ups, Johnson’s Baby Powder, Febreze Air Freshener, Dove Body Lotion, Disposable Red Plastic Cups, Crest Toothpaste, Huggies Size 3 Diapers, Paper Plates, Colgate Toothpaste, Tide Detergent, Cottonelle Flushable Wipes, Dove Body Wash, and Clorox Disinfectant Wipes.
Kid’s Crest Sparkle Fun Toothpaste, Burt’s Bees Charcoal Toothpaste, Colgate Kids Toothbrushes, Garnier Shampoo and Conditioner, Clorox Kitchen Gloves, Windex Glass Cleaner, Suave Kids Purely Fun 3-1 Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash, Lysol Lemon Breeze All Purpose Cleaner, Huggies Size 6 Diapers, Arm & Hammer Liquid Laundry Detergent and Bounce Dryer Sheets.
What does “Just One Dash” do with over $1,100 worth of Target purchases? We give it away. We drive to the West Side of Chicago and we give some to a Single Mom who has one baby boy and two young daughters. We give some to a Single Mom with a 3-year-old daughter. Then we give some more away to a Single Mom with two young baby boys. Next, we drop off items to a Single Mom of four boys. Finally, we wind up at the new apartment of a family I talked about in our Winter Newsletter who is a Single Mom of 3 children. We exchange greetings, get an update on their families since we last saw each other, and in some cases say hello to their children. We promise to check in on them again in 90 days which will be around Christmas time in this case. They are thankful, happy and grateful. They are good people who, thanks to our donors, are able to utilize our “Bumpers”.
For our loyal readers who read our “Winter Newsletter”, you may recall the plight of one of our families that went through a string of unfortunate events at the onset of the COVID pandemic. I ended that newsletter “to be continued”. They have spent the last four months living in a homeless shelter on the South Side of Chicago.
I am happy to say that they recently were granted a two-year life line by Heartland Alliance who are going to pay 100% of their rent for the next two years. They just had to find a 3-bedroom heated apartment given a monthly budget of $1,300. They had a month to find a home before Heartland would step in and assign them a place. Mom, understandably so, wanted to keep her children in the same school as they do fine academically and like their friends and teachers.
After a stressful month-long search, she finally was able to secure a place that checked all the boxes. Heartland agreed to move the budget up to $1,450/month. With the incredible help of a couple of gentlemen who stepped in to help the search (shout out to Sleeping Bear Realty) she was able to sign a lease. After spending the summer and first month of school at the homeless shelter, they are moving into a 4-bedroom heated apartment within walking distance to their school.
To say they are excited is an understatement. Now they have to work on filling up the rooms with beds, furniture…. pretty much everything. They have air mattresses and their clothes. If you are able to donate any furnishings, please let me know. I know they would be grateful for anything.
“How Can I Help?”. I get asked that at times. You can donate money or purchase items off of our wishlists. If you are Amazon shoppers, you can choose “Just One Dash” as your Non-Profit of choice at Amazon Smile. Or, just tell me what you want to do? In my Winter 2021 newsletter, I explained that “one of the benefits about starting a new organization is that it starts out as a blank canvas” and “it establishes a platform for doing good”. We work with families who have young children- mostly single Moms. Beyond the above suggestions, what do you want to do? Or what can you do? Feel free to text/call me at 847-452-5121 or email me at terry@justonedash.org and we can figure out a way to fill up your blank canvas. Trust me, there is way more demand than we have supply. Any help is greatly appreciated.