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While most coffee fanatics would venture to say, tongue-in-cheek, that coffee is “life-saving,” these two cups of Joe might actually qualify for that.
Exhibit “A”:
Meet best friends Skip and Mike (a police officer for the Siloam Springs Police Department). It was a routine visit to the local gas station that turned these strangers into friends. Morning after morning they would run into each other near the EZ-Mart coffee pot, both there to get their morning fill-up. It didn’t take long for the two to strike up a friendship!
Seven years have been kind to their friendship; however, the years have not been as kind to Skip when it comes to health issues. The recent need for open-heart surgery has shed light on the urgency for additional assistance; specifically a wheelchair ramp and other home modification needs.
Like most things, however, help comes at a cost — $1600 in fact. And while we make it a practice to ask Neighbors to contribute something toward the cost of their project, it was pretty apparent that Skip was unable to contribute toward the cost of materials or labor.
But his need was not going away . . . and neither is Mike.
Mike asked the Fraternal Order of Police to consider donating toward Skip’s wheelchair ramp. They were quick to help! Other community members have also stepped up to meet the need, proving that sometimes it really does take a village.
Exhibit “B”:
It’s not uncommon for Wayne, our Founder/Director, to meet with local pastors and share about our mission . . . over a cup of coffee. This scenario played out the first time he met Terry Scott, a pastor at First Assembly of God in West Siloam. Wayne decided to share about Skip’s need with Terry and asked if his church would consider helping Skip. They didn’t hesitate to love their Neighbor in big ways!
With the project fully funded, we were able to gather up the materials and build Skip a ramp before his day of surgery. There’s something truly incredible about seeing multiple community groups/members come together to make this happen; to meet a BASIC NEED for someone many of them have never met.
That’s the power of a loving community!
While Skip may not be making a trip to the gas station for his morning cup of coffee anytime soon, he can have confidence that, thanks to the support of his community, he can return home to a place modified to meet his needs . . . with coffee maker close by and friendship by his side.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT A PROJECT FOR A NEIGHBOR IN NEED OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.KINDATHEART.ORG/FUNDAPROJECT