12: A Dozen Days of a Dozen Dollars

In addition To National Braille Literacy Month and National Human Trafficking and Anti-Slavery Awareness month, it's also Hot Soup Month. So of course, I had to look for some soup for the soul, and I'm starting with the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, whose mission  "provides food and fellowship to those in need and educates our community on hunger and poverty." (http://shorelinesoupkitchens.org) Shoreline provides meals seven days a week, and food pantries are available during fours day (five time periods) each week. Shoreline offers great training and education materials for volunteers, too: http://shorelinesoupkitchens.org/give-help/donate-time. I've never been to a soup kitchen (or homeless shelter or anywhere offering aid) and not met someone wonderful. People end up needing assistance for so many reasons, and I believe, regardless of what those reasons may be, no one deserves to go hungry. 
As you can see from the graphic to the right, Shoreline has helped many individuals. This is the end of year 2015.

Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries distributed 1,292,518 pounds of food in 2015. 

Shoreline Soup kitchens & Pantries also partners with the Shoreline Basic Needs Task Force, "The Shoreline Basic Needs Task Force is a collaboration of community groups and concerned people, working to affect change that increases self-sufficiency among vulnerable individuals and families in need along the Connecticut Shoreline." Notes from meetings are downloadable here: http://shorelinesoupkitchens.org/news/shoreline-basic-needs-task-force
 One quote from their site reinforces how I feel about philanthropy and the Donations by the Dozen initiative, "We know that we could all end up needing a food pantry; that empathy makes us committed to being welcoming and caring. All our meals and services are free of charge."http://shorelinesoupkitchens.org/about-us/description Empathy may be one of the biggest components of why I am taking you on the Donations by the Dozen journey. I hope you find something with which you empathize  somewhere in the journey, something that inspires, motivates, teaches, or makes you more aware of something new or different. For whatever reason, I remain lucky and blessed enough to make these daily donations this year, even if I don't yet know what next year will bring. I think of myself as being more lucky to do this, because I physically cannot do all of the volunteering I wish I could, or it would be a volunteering for each day project. Whatever you find and whatever you do with what you find, please have a toast and cheers to charity for me? Thanks, m

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/, on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly, or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html, where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen. Thanks and cheers to charity, m