One of the things that I hate most about winter is the worry that it is so, so difficult for so many people and animals. Ask my husband, I truly do lay awake at night worrying about the cats outside, kids without coats, and most importantly, the homeless. And while we are active in charities we support throughout the year, I feel like winters like this leave almost a helpless feeling at times. There seems to be SO MUCH need. Where do we even start?
When I saw Hadley’s Urban Grape blog post the other day, I thought it was the perfect place. The Urban Grape stores are more than just wine stores; they are places that so many Bostonians have come to love over the years because of the beautiful spaces, events, and people.
The blog post introduced me to the Old South Church’s Boston Warm. The Old South Church is a place where, whenever nearby, I have found peace and welcome, especially in the weeks that followed the Boston Marathon bombing. It is warmth, and it has opened its doors to people who need it most during this awful winter. In addition to providing day shelter, they are collecting items for people in need. You can visit their Amazon wish list here.
The Urban Grape is getting involved and giving you even more incentive to visit their stores this weekend.
From their blog post:
From Thursday to Sunday of this week, we will be collecting donation items for #BostonWarm at both of our stores. If you bring a donation in during this time, you will receive 10% off beer and spirits purchases (no minimum or maximum) and bottles of wine, or 20% off cases of wine (12 bottles of wine). Applies to in-stock items only.
Donations include:
– Non-perishable food. Canned items must be in pop-top lids.
– Warm hats, scarves, mittens, gloves and socks. No other clothing items please (they cannot store them on the other side)
– $43 checks made out to City Mission Society with Boston Warm in the memo line. This is to rent storage lockers where the homeless can store their items.
Let’s continue to show the world that we are a community who takes care of one another, even when it seems like everything is going wrong around us.
