The Homeless Outreach Continues (Here's some new info)...

Revolutionaries,

It’s time to update you with some information pertaining to our weekly homeless outreach.

First off, I want to thank all of you for the support and encouragement I received from so many of you in response to the note I posted last week, announcing the now-dormant status of the Dirty Roots Revolution. I am humbled and overwhelmed by your response. (If you haven’t read the note, you can find it, titled “In Conclusion…” on our Facebook page or our blog:www.DirtyRootsRevolution.blogspot.com)

As I stated in that note, all activities pertaining to the Dirty Roots Revolution will cease indefinitely. EXCEPT, that is, for our homeless outreach.

This activity will continue weekly and will be moved under the umbrella of Wired, the college ministry at the First Christian Church in Greenville, IL.

I want to assure you that this means very little change as far as how the outreach is conducted.

EVERYONE is welcome to participate in the homeless outreach, regardless of their church affiliation or spiritual beliefs.

The homeless outreach will resume this Saturday, September 4th.

We will meet at my home, 615 East Oak St. in Greenville, at 10 a.m. and depart for St. Louis shortly thereafter each Saturday.

We will visit the same neighborhood in St. Louis as we have in the past (in front of the Public Library on Olive, between 13th & 14th Streets).

If you are one of our out-of-town friends or groups who have joined us in the past, or have recently inquired about joining us, you’re welcome to meet us in that location around 11:30 on Saturday mornings.

We are still accepting contributions of travel-sized toiletries and individually-wrapped, non-perishable food items for distribution on the homeless outreach (A list of needs follows this message). To contribute these items, you can drop them off at our home (we store all homeless outreach items in our garage and have a white shelf outside of the garage where you can leave items), you can leave them in the large blue barrel outside of the office at the Greenville First Christian Church, or you can contact us to arrange pick-up or delivery.

Financial contributions CAN still be made toward this program. However, we ask that you do NOT make checks to the Dirty Roots Revolution. Please make your checks to the First Christian Church and put “Homeless Outreach” or “The 3.11 Project” in the memo line. You can send contributions to the First Christian Church at 1100 Killarney Drive in Greenville, IL 62246.

ALL contributions to this effort through the church will be put in a special fund and directed to us, to be used exclusively for the homeless outreach.

This will actually be a benefit to those who choose to financially support our homeless outreach. Since the church is designated a non-profit organization, you will receive a tax break through your contribution, which was not possible for us as the Dirty Roots Revolution.

Finally, the name of this initiative will be changed. The homeless outreach will know be known as “The 3.11 Project.”

The 3.11 Project was originally a division of the Dirty Roots Revolution’s homeless outreach, wherein we sold T-shirts with the 3.11 Project logo on them. The profit from each shirt was used to provide an identical shirt to one of our homeless brothers or sisters in St. Louis.

The idea for the program was submitted by high school student Sam Filby and takes its name from Luke 3:11, which says, “John answered, ‘The man who has two tunics should share with him who has none, and the man who has food should do the same.”

That’s really what the homeless outreach is about, overall. So we took the opportunity of the changes that are occurring to apply that concept and name to the entire homeless outreach.

A few extra things for you to keep in mind:

The Dirty Roots Revolution Facebook page will most likely be removed in the fairly near future. If you would like to keep up with the happenings of this homeless outreach, please look up “The 3.11 Project” on Facebook and become a fan of that page. It’s not up and running yet, but it will be very soon.

We also have a new email address: 3.11project@gmail.com. We don’t have any immediate plans for a newsletter or anything like that, but we will from time to time communicate various needs, activities, etc., through this email address. If you would like to be added to our database to receive updates from the 3.11 Project, please send an email to that address with “Subscribe” in the body of the message.

And, finally…

Part of the reason for the changes currently happening with the DRR is a need to lessen the workload of some key people. In doing so, we’d like to recruit some more “team leaders” for our weekly homeless outreach trips. Team leaders are basically the “go-to folks” on each weekly trip. Their main requirements are to keep track of the canvas bags and coolers we take items in, return them to their storage place after the trip, keep and eye on things during the outreach, and answer any questions that may come up during the visit.

If you have been on some of our weekly trips and are interested in serving as a team leader (either on a frequent or occasional basis), please email us and let us know. We’d love to have your help!
Thank you for your support and involvement in our homeless outreach. We look forward to working with you under the new name of The 3.11 Project!

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Here’s that list of needed items for the homeless outreach:

Toiletries
(Please note: for some items, like soap and deodorant, the regular size is OK, but travel size is much better for toothpaste, soap, lotion, etc.)
Soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion, lip balm, etc.
**Toiletries are not limited to these items, however we do NOT accept any mouthwashes or any types of medication

Snacks
Peanut butter or cheese crackers, beef jerky, granola bars, raisins, etc.
**Snacks are not limited to these items, but they MUST be non-perishable and individually-wrapped

Misc.
NEW men’s and women’s T-shirts, underwear, and socks (L & XL sizes)

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO SPACE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS, WE CAN NOT ACCEPT DONATIONS OF CLOTHING AT THIS TIME, other than new underwear, socks, and T-shirts. Please take clothing contributions to your local thrift shop or another worthy cause.