Summer 2021 Newsletter
Previously we have written about WHY “Just One Dash” was started and outlined WHAT we hope to accomplish. Now that restrictions are easing and people are once again out and about, we want to share ways people can join our cause.
Here are a few ways you can help:
Adopt A Family: For $365 or $1 a day, you can essentially act as a year-round Secret Santa to a family in need. You will know the make-up of the family. You will know what essential items your donation supplied. There will be 100% transparency, and 100% of your donation will go to your selected family. Also, a group of people can go in together to support a family. If you recall from the previous newsletters, we aim to have the family create their own wish list of essential day-to-day toiletries and household items. Interested parties that would like to “adopt a family” can email me at terry@justonedash.org or call/text me at 847-452-5121.
On our website www.justonedash.org, we will post a master Amazon wish list of supplies in need. If it is more convenient, you can purchase these items from other retailers and either drop them off or have them mailed to our office. We can also arrange for these items to be picked up.
Know any teachers? Retired teachers? Aspiring teachers? Math or science whiz? We are looking for tutors to help elementary and middle school age students.
Spread the word! To quote Ken “Hawk” Harrelson- “Call your sons, call your daughters, call your friends, call your neighbors.” The more people that know about “Just One Dash” and our mission, the more people we can help.
We are a city flush with prosperity and resources. But there are A LOT of people struggling and living in poverty. Poverty in Chicago is everyone’s problem. According to recent census data, 1 in 10 Chicago residents are living in extreme poverty, meaning their income is 50 percent below the federal poverty line. One in 4 kids in Chicago are living in poverty. The people we will help will have the same size dash as everyone else. We all have that in common. The capacity to help is enormous. That being said, we want to help one family at a time. We want to stay connected to the families we are helping and act as “bumpers” as they live their dash and raise their children.
Years ago a friend of mine told me that you will always leave a gym feeling better about yourself than when you walked in. I find that volunteering and helping people has the same effect. As Linda Ellis so eloquently wrote in her poem The Dash - “For it matters not, how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash. What matters most is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.”
Please don’t hesitate with any questions, comments or ideas you may have. Feedback is always welcomed and encouraged.
All the best,
Terry Geary