We really hate it for you if you missed it!  What a blast!  Our very first fundraiser, after all this time, worked!  Thanks to many of you who made it, and several who couldn’t, we reached our matching $2,500 grant from Modern Woodmen.  Thanks to you all, we had over a $5,000 night.  Y’all are so incredible!

A few mentions and thanks:

Modern Woodmen, thank you so much for this matching grant!!  This is huge, and will go a long way this winter!  Love ya Marsha!!

Sweet Love Bakes, thank you for the awesome spread of sweets for our silent auction!  It did great!!  You rock, Kelli!!

Swearingen Family, thank for the personalized “The One, Inc.” iPod!  It did well also.  Love y’all!

Stephen Cefalo, thank you for the incredible drawing!  It did VERY well, and was a huge help in reaching our goal.

Jacob Slaton Photography, thanks for the photo session for the silent auction, man!  Somebody will be very pleased!!

CWP Productions, for providing all the lighting and sound for our DJ to rock it out on!!  Love ya Chris!

Ryan Byrd, for doing some stellar design work for us!  You’re a beast.

Thank you again to EVERYONE who made this possible!  I’m sure I’m forgetting something/someone.  Please forgive me if so.  

We all have different ideas of what a home looks like.  When I think of a home, I think of a wood stove similar to the one showed above, except ours was brown and rusted out.  It was the center of our home when our electricity would go out as a kid.  When I think of the house I grew up in, my fondest memories were of our brown wood stove.  The house I grew up in has 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, two dining rooms, a large den and a big kitchen.    At the peaks of my growing up, sometimes there were as many as 15 folks living in this house.  We all lived together at different times because some of us were going through hard times and other sundries.  It is the house my grandfather built.  And when one of his kids, or friends, needed somewhere to sleep, we made room.  We made room because we loved one another.

Due to my rich, privileged childhood, I always knew I had family that loved me.  I always had a home.

I have a friend that I’m going to call Job.  Job has lost everything.  His kids have disowned him.  His wife has passed.  He can barely walk.  Job has told me every week for the past 3 months that on the 27th of this month he will turn 80.  So, I’m not quite sure how old Job is.  Three “27th of this month”‘s have passed since he first told me that he will turn 80 on the 27th.  Sometimes Job is very conscious and aware of his surroundings.  Today was one of those days.  Two weeks ago, when I saw him last, he was sure that his son, who hasn’t spoken to him in 5 years was coming to pick him up.  Today he spoke of a god that he loved that was mean and spiteful that was punishing Job for all of his sins.  Today he spoke of a god that didn’t care whether he lived or died.  I don’t know who this god is that Job is speaking of, but I know better.  But Job is currently very mad at this god and it breaks my heart.  So when this god (that Job has created in his mind to replace the ever loving, ‘I shall never leave nor forsake you’ God that I know) has forsaken Job, I am making it my duty to show Job that God has NOT forsaken him and that God loves him.  How do I do this?  I’m going to check on him every few days.  I am going to bring him a cup of coffee and a doughnut when I can.  I’m going to make sure he stays warm and survives this winter.

Below is a picture of where Job currently lives.  His home consists of a couch, where he sleeps, a recliner and a tarp hanging on some limbs to keep the rain off of him.  This is a picture of why VanLanta needs your support.  I need to keep what I’m doing so that Job knows he is loved.  If the name of this organization is “The One, Inc.”, Job is The One.  The 99 are fine in the field where they are supposed to be, but Job is currently lost.  He needs to know people care enough about him to go looking for him.   Job is The One.

If you haven’t yet, please consider becoming a monthly partner with The One, Inc.  The world is full of Job’s.

Sweet Love Bakes

8210 Cantrell Rd in Little Rock

OR

Bob’s Pawn Shop

3713 MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock

We’re pleased to announce a new “official” donation drop-off spot in your neck of the woods.

Please begin overloading Brian with blankets/coats/socks immediately!!   And give his facebook page a “like” here:  http://facebook.com/brianthompsonagency

Today the story we hope we never hear, I heard….

Today, the stories I’ve heard friends like Aaron Reddin (The Van) and Hugh Hollowell (http://lovewins.info) tell happened around me…

A woman who has made the hard decision to be homeless (because the alternative is to share a home with an abusive male) named Luann (name has been changed, obviously) introduced herself to me.  We talked for about a half hour.  We cried.  We hugged.  And she knows, if she needs anything, she can give me a call.

This is the kind of work I do.  I don’t just give folks clothes, soap and socks.  I do my best to give folks a friend.  I do my best to give folks an ear that they wouldn’t get at other places.  I do my best to give folks a judgment free zone so they can tell their story without worrying whether or not I’m going to think less of them or stop helping them.

However, I do give folks clothes, soap and socks. I make sure my friends are as comfortable as living in the woods allows.  And I need your help.

I need your old jackets that you’re going to give to some other 501(c)3.  We can give you the same type of tax receipt you would get from them.  I need gently used or new socks.  I need blankets, sleeping bags, tents and tooth brushes so that my friends aren’t sleeping on the ground and so that they might be able to retain a bit of self-respect.

I need to keep doing what I’m doing so folks who “choose” to sleep outside, because the only house they have is shared with an abusive partner can know they’re not alone.

I need your help.  You can donate right on this website or you can comment or send me an email at terry@theoneinc.org to talk about donating material items, an address to mail a check, or if you want me to come pick up something you want to donate.

The One Inc. needs your help.  Luann needs your help.  Jerome, Wanda, Minny, Mickey, Brandon and Justin need your help too.  These are folks that I have a relationship with that I help, week in and week out and I can’t do it without your help.

Terry R. Smith
Vanbassador
Atlanta, GA

Emily and Aaron took a tour of The One headquarters on Monday and went over everything that might come up as she starts to field calls and emails from volunteers. Look for her name and contact info on the website soon!

Thanks Emily. You rule.

 To donate to The One, Inc. click here!

By the way, you can RSVP for the event on Facebook. (Please share the event page with as many people as you can so we can have an awesome turnout!!)

Sneak Peak at the Field Hands T-Shirt Design:
Stay tuned to our website for details on how you can get one!!

I’m Terry.  I operate VanLanta, The One Inc’s Atlanta Van.  And, my birthday is in 30 days (August 17th).  I have only one wish for my birthday: to raise as much money for VanLanta as one possibly can.  So, for the next 30 days, I’m asking you to donate generously and often to VanLanta here.

The VanLanta came to the Atlanta Metro area in February of 2012 and since February we have served hundreds of our ATL friends who sleep outside.  And, we’re going to continue to do so.  Every week, I meet someone who had a bed the previous week.  We do our best to make that transition into houselessness as painless as possible, by provinding them bedding, clothing and tents (when we can).  We love what we’re doing, but if we want to keep doing it, we have to have your support.  Please, consider going here and setting up a monthly donation of $5 to $100. Don’t forget to specify it’s for VanLanta if this post urged you to donate!

Thanks so much! If you’re wondering about our other needs, check this out.

If you plant a seed, it will grow. It’s not a concept that’s beyond Aaron Reddin, though he admits to not being much of a gardener. It’s also not a bad metaphor for Reddin’s

efforts to help the homeless and impoverished, which once included him handing out food and supplies from his Yaris. Then there was The Van. Then there were more vans and more cities with vans. Now there’s The Field.

As dark storm clouds promise the first rain in what seems like ages, high winds kick up the finely tilled dirt of The Field, filling shoes and blinding eyes out on North Little Rock’s Faulkner Lake Road. Reddin can barely contain his excitement, not just over the imminent and much-needed downpour but over the day’s haul of squash — The Field’s “first fruits.”

The idea here isn’t exactly rocket science. The plan is to use The Field’s two acres (and potentially five more next door, if dreams come true) to grow fresh produce to be handed out to the homeless. The plan is twofold, though. First, it provides food for those without any. Second, it also provides work for those without any, because those benefiting from the field often will also be those working it.

“With this whole thing, the options are really endless,” said Reddin as he led a tour of the grounds, pointing out rows of green beans, purple hull peas, okra, corn, squash, tomatoes, peppers and … well, something. He’s not a gardener. But he does know that over a small rise toward the back of the property there are watermelons.

“Imagine you live outside here in Arkansas. And it’s summer and it’s hot as hell. Now imagine someone rolls up to give you a fresh-grown watermelon that’s been on ice overnight,” said Reddin. “It’s not going to fix every problem in your life, but it’s sure going to help you forget how crappy it is for just a few minutes.”

Maybe that’s enough, at least for some. But as Reddin has taken his relief efforts directly to the homeless — whom he calls friends, not homeless — over the years, rolling The Van into woods and camps and hand-delivering food or clothes or offering a ride or a shower, it’s not uncommon for the first question to be about a job.

“I would say 50 percent of the people on the street, the first thing they ask is do you know where I can find some work,” Reddin said. “Now I can say, yeah, dude, I do. You want work? Come on.”

At least, it’ll get to that point. The Field, which is a cooperative effort between Reddin’s The One Inc. and The People Tree Inc., is still in the building phase right now, and missed out on much of the spring planting season. Long-term plans call for hoop houses and irrigation for year-round planting and harvest. Chicken coops will offer eggs and fertilizer. A tree on the edge of the property already has a bee colony living in it, and one project will be enticing them to move into a hive box that’s going to be built. Even a tree house will offer shelter and a wage for a night watchman. There’s room at the front of the property for produce stands and maybe a farmers market — or, if not on site, then in conjunction with one of the many operating in the metro. Workers can grow what they need and sell the rest. The larger fields can support the charity efforts. A seed bank could generate some extra income. Those other five acres, if they can be purchased, could support livestock. Reddin’s ideas go on and on.

“There’s no model that I know of that we’re trying to follow in what we do, so every day is a new day,” he said.

Though without a model, Reddin is not without expectations. He noted a news article he read about a one-acre urban farm in Illinois producing three million pounds of food in a year. The Field has twice that much land already.

“If we can pull six million pounds of food a year from this, there’s no reason we can’t whack into that nasty number we have here in Arkansas that says we’ve got more hungry kids here than in a lot of other places,” he said.

That it’s all possible is thanks to a handful of partners. Among them are Reddin’s co-organizers of The Field, a nonprofit called The People Tree, which has a hand in a number of community gardens in the area. They’re the ones who know how and what to plant, said Reddin.

“I have not a green thumb one,” he said.

The land itself, and its associated buildings, came by way of a friend who leased it for a business that didn’t work out. A 15,000-square-foot warehouse on site was slowly given over to storage for The One’s outreach and the tons of donated clothing it receives. Eventually, the building’s space was converted into useful rooms for laundry and a community room, but there’s also room for classes on growing and planting. A grant being pursued by People Tree would fund the installation of a commercial kitchen. Another will fund irrigation systems. Even though plans are in place to harvest rainwater and nearby standing water (it’s been tested and approved for watering), Reddin said the water bill is the most daunting obstacle right now.

But help may also come from unexpected quarters, too. Reddin said he’d been contacted out of the blue by producers representing P. Allen Smith, well known locally and nationally for his gardening programs. What may develop is yet to be determined.

“Our producers have inquired about this project, but we have not decided to participate,” wrote Mimi San Pedro, chief operating and marketing officer for P. Allen Smith, in an email. Still, the helping hands, wherever they come from, are most welcome, said Reddin.

“The only things I’m confidently able to do are see, drive and break things,” he said. “I broke a water hose the other day. How does that even happen?”

A tractor is the answer. That, and a failing on the “seeing” and “driving” part.

But despite the Green Acres-like moments, the hundreds of volunteer hours already put into The Field are going to pay off in a long-term goal that many people may not realize is a problem. Among the homeless and impoverished, where having food is a priority, the quality of the food is often overlooked. A study by Harvard Medical School in Boston and the University of Oxford released last month indicated that obesity is becoming the new face of malnutrition among the homeless, owing in part to reliance on cheap foods with higher fat and sugar content and lack of access to fresh, quality food. It predicts as much as a third of the U.S. homeless population is obese.

“This study highlights the importance of the quality, as well as the quantity, of food that the homeless are consuming,” study co-author Paul Montgomery, a professor of psycho-social interventions at the University of Oxford, said in a news release. “Interventions aimed at reducing obesity in the homeless, such as improving nutritional standards in shelters or educational efforts at clinical sites, should be considered in light of these findings.”

Reddin hopes to do just that by offering something other than leftovers and “bad food.” The answer, he said, is to bring the hungry directly to the source.

“I’d never realized, but it’s food. Just food. It’s not hard,” he said. “You put crap in the ground, and crap comes up. It just makes sense.”