Coating Our Community With Love
Temperatures in Texas have started to drop toward freezing! Families without proper cold weather attire feel the winter temperature changes dramatically. Dr. Becky Tibbits, a friend of the Wallnau’s (pictured right of Annabelle), saw this need and wanted to work together with Furnishing Families of Texas to help.
In October, she and her business partner Dr. Yaxaira Almeida (pictured left of Annabelle) started a coat drive at Max Living Momentum Family Chiropractic, their practice in Cedar Hill. They invited their clients and their family network to donate new and gently used coats for children and adults. Annabelle was thrilled with this idea, initially hoping for enough coats to supply seven families we have built long-term relationships with.
Amazingly, within a few weeks the results were beyond abundance. OVER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY COATS came in!!! Annabelle and Terri Byrd have been able to deliver coats to our families before the coldest temperatures arrived. We still have coats available to distribute to additional families in our network and beyond through several public schools.
Other partners continue to confront this issue, as well. Robyn Garcia, executive director of Worth Fighting For in Las Vegas, connects us with thousands of dollars worth of new, high quality, name-brand clothes, sweaters, and coats for free! We just pay for the shipping. We distribute these items to our network and through our outreaches. Last year, we joined forces with social worker Misty Gann of Keller ISD for a free school closet program to clothe students in need. (You can see that story HERE). We sent her some beautiful Patagonia coats. We will also be sending items to Donna Biss for their Christmas outreach in Orange County, Ca.! (Read Furnishing Families of California in our blog to learn more).
Thank you to all our partners for your benevolence in helping these families. Together we have been able to follow Jesus’ command found in Luke 3:11: “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” (To see more about food generosity, read a “Thanksgiving Surprise” in this blog!).
