Living the Bottom-line
Each day that I serve the homeless on the streets, I have a specific amount of money I can spend. I get to decide how I spend the money, based on how I’ve spent money every week since 1997. I might make mistakes, but they’re nickel and dime when I do. I don’t get any complaints, so I just keep on keepin’ on.
I spend the budget I get on fuel, food, soda pop, and kitchen supplies; pretty much in that order. If I have money left from week to week, I spend it on emergency items of a personal nature, like socks, first aid supplies, and birthday gifts. Often, the homeless I serve give me spare change. I spend that money on tobacco and beer.
I drive over 300 miles each week to serve the homeless and the disabled; that’s a lot of fuel. I spend one dollar on each meal I serve; up to 120 meals every week. I don’t usually have money left over to buy socks or special needs items; those are often provided by individuals and corporations through donations and contributions. Most every week, I get enough spare change to buy three pouches of spin, and a twelve-pack of beer.
Each year, I drive over 15,000 miles in a donated van, I serve over 6,000 meals outdoors, and I provide hundreds of people emergency services, all on a budget of less than $15,000.
HOPE of Minnesota is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization. I’m no accountant, but looking at the budget and the services provided, I see a whole lot of profiting going on. Hungry people are fed, sick people are ministered to, and everyday, God makes miracles of hope and healing happen to the hurting.
Everyday we live, we are given a measure of Mercy and a gift of Love. We get to decide how we spend that budget of blessings. At the end of our days, our measure of profit isn’t going to be determined by an accountant’s book, but by how we've spent everyday living the bottom-line.
I spend the budget I get on fuel, food, soda pop, and kitchen supplies; pretty much in that order. If I have money left from week to week, I spend it on emergency items of a personal nature, like socks, first aid supplies, and birthday gifts. Often, the homeless I serve give me spare change. I spend that money on tobacco and beer.
I drive over 300 miles each week to serve the homeless and the disabled; that’s a lot of fuel. I spend one dollar on each meal I serve; up to 120 meals every week. I don’t usually have money left over to buy socks or special needs items; those are often provided by individuals and corporations through donations and contributions. Most every week, I get enough spare change to buy three pouches of spin, and a twelve-pack of beer.
Each year, I drive over 15,000 miles in a donated van, I serve over 6,000 meals outdoors, and I provide hundreds of people emergency services, all on a budget of less than $15,000.
HOPE of Minnesota is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization. I’m no accountant, but looking at the budget and the services provided, I see a whole lot of profiting going on. Hungry people are fed, sick people are ministered to, and everyday, God makes miracles of hope and healing happen to the hurting.
Everyday we live, we are given a measure of Mercy and a gift of Love. We get to decide how we spend that budget of blessings. At the end of our days, our measure of profit isn’t going to be determined by an accountant’s book, but by how we've spent everyday living the bottom-line.
posted by Kelly at 9:00 PM
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