My name is Tammye and I’m a business owner in Granbury, Texas. My company is very engaged in community outreach, so when one of my advisors, Patti Jarman, brought an idea to me, we jumped on it right away.
A local church was making beds for the homeless using recycled plastic grocery bags. It takes about 1,000 bags per bed, and the beds provide protection from the dirty ground, give about an inch of padding to sleep on, are lightweight and even have ties on the end so they can be rolled up and easily transported. Also…by repurposing the bags, we are keeping them out of the ocean where they harm the sea life.
The technique is similar to crocheting and is all done by hand. The challenge is that each one takes quite a bit of time, but being stuck at home has provided the perfect opportunity! The COVID-19 safety guidelines have slowed down the process, so we have to spray each bag down and hang it up to dry before we can use it. That’s why it takes our whole team to make a bed. There are lots of steps that go into it.
The nice thing is, the women who started this project give great training, so once you have been instructed on how to do it, they are pretty simple to make. Our team goal right now is to make seven beds, but we realize this is something that will be needed even beyond the pandemic. Our hope is to recruit others and be able to make even more beds.
We have also been sewing cotton masks that contain a basic filter. We have distributed 250 of those so far.
I am so blessed to work on a team of people who have servant hearts. Sometimes I feel like this is a ministry more than a business because our philosophy is that we make money so we can give more away. We have even started a nonprofit called Dream Big that provides scholarships for children of single-parent homes.
That’s why I’m excited about working with VOMO and Be A Neighbor because it will enable us to reach more people.
Giving to others and serving others can change your whole outlook. People are down right now, but helping those in need provides a new perspective. We need encouragement in this world now more than ever, and doing things for others gives hope that mankind is better than what you see on the news.
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