Season of Hope Invitation

Will you join us for a Season of Hope? Between now and the end of the year, we will be sharing weekly content that explores the many facets of hope.

This isn’t meant to be prescriptive. There are multiple entry points into this invitation: Moments of inspiration and response on social media. Minutes or more, with a weekly blog post, where you sit quietly and ponder one of the prompts. A month of hope in action. Make this season of hope the reflection that you need.

You can find Season of Hope Week 1 here and Week 2 here  and Week 3 here.

Season of Hope, Week 4: Somewhere, Right Now

It arrived in the mail at our Day Services Center. Perhaps a staff member ordered it to be shared with the children who are a frequent presence on our campus. Karen Doherty’s children’s book, “Somewhere, Right Now.” The back cover caught my attention. It read, “Somewhere, right now, something beautiful is happening in the world.” 

I couldn’t shake the back cover blurb from my thoughts. It’s a phrase that could apply to all our Roof Above locations. Somewhere, right now, something beautiful is happening.  

I was reminded of this just recently. A certain neighbor noticed that another neighbor with an intellectual and developmental disability was sleeping under a nearby bridge with little to protect him from the cold. He also noticed that this neighbor carried all his belongings in a trash bag, slung over his shoulder, to and from his spot under the bridge every day. 

This neighbor took it on himself to locate an extra-large backpack for the neighbor-in-need. I know this because he left it in my office with instructions on whom to give it to. Now, neither knows the other’s name. I do. But his generosity wasn’t dependent on this level of familiarity. 

In time, this neighbor also noticed that the neighbor-in-need did not have a phone. And without a phone he couldn’t stay connected to his loved ones. This neighbor found a working phone for him. The face of it was terribly scarred. But, so what, it worked. He found a charger for it, too. And left it in my office for the neighbor-in-need. No conditions. No expectation of quid pro quo (something for something). 

Somewhere, right now, something beautiful is happening at one of our Roof Above campuses. And more good happens on our campuses thanks to one neighbor looking after another neighbor than we can imagine. Am I right?  

We highlight the good work of our Roof Above staff on social media platforms and at luncheons attended by hundreds of Charlotte’s movers and shakers. And rightly so. But generosity and kindness of extraordinary dimensions happens right under our noses. Neighbor to neighbor. Seldom recognized. Somewhere, right now. Every day. 

~written by Joe Hamby, Roof Above’s Community Education Director

 

Questions to Ponder

When have you witnessed something beautiful happening?

How does something beautiful happening relate to hope?

 

Invitation to Act in Hope

It’s the season of gift giving, which we often want to feel beautiful but can end up feeling stressful instead. This year, consider a different kind of gift. The talented artist Manny Blanco, who is also a guest at the N. Tryon Men’s Shelter, helped create a stunning Honor Card that makes a unique gift and helps end homelessness at the same time.

Read more of Manny’s story and gift the special people in your life Honor Cards today!