Life and Whatnot

TEN DOLLAR CHALLENGE


Hi Gang. Remember my post on keeping the $10 Challenge Going? It started with Billy Coffey‘s site. Then, on Tina Howard’s site Spagettiepie , this challenge was shared:

1. Get a $10 bill (or 2), and put it in your wallet or purse.
2. Pray for an opportunity.
3. Give the $10 bill away . . . to someone begging on the side of the road, to cover lunch for the person sitting alone at the table next to yours, to pay for something the person behind you is buying, to the single mom in your kid’s class who’s struggling to make ends meet.
4. Write about your experience. If you have a blog, please post your thoughts and leave a link in the comments here.

Well…this past week, I was in Denver, CO for work. I was out with my sales reps meeting with clients and I saw someone on the side of the road holding a sign. I passed on my $10.00 to him.

Now, I know we’ve all seen them. Holding cardboard signs asking for either jobs, money or both. How many times have you passed them by? I’ve done it countless times throughout my life. My reactions to seeing them have ranged from, “Ahhh, you’ll just spend it on booze.” to “I’m so blessed, God would want me to give back to those who are less fortunate.”

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What are your thoughts?

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8 Comments

  • Lynn Rush

    Hey, Salvation Army is a good way to start, you know? I’m hearing there is a great deficiency for them and may have to turn people away this holiday season.

    Thanks, everyone for stopping by and supporting the $10 challenge. If you post a story, link to me it and I’ll come see what you have to say.

  • Amy Deardon

    Lynn, thank you for the reminder — and Billy’s also! I forgot but now will keep my eyes out for someone. BTW I put money in the Salvation Army kettle last week — does this count?

    Merry Christmas!

  • Kat

    Not so long ago (maybe two years) I gave all of the money in my pocket (about $5) to a man who asked if I could spare any change.

    How weird is it that I thought of him yesterday? I wondered what he was doing. And then I read your blog today.

    Wow. Synchronicity.

  • Rosslyn

    There are so many people in need out there that we won’t have any trouble finding a place for random acts of kindness.

    I prefer not to think of them as random. I like to think that someone bigger than me has it all planned out, and puts me in the right place at the right time.

  • Billy Cofey

    Thanks, Lynn, for sharing this. Yes, I’ve often thought much the same thing seeing these poor people. But your act went well beyond preconceptions and opinions to the heart of the matter, just as all of our acts should. Yours was a blessing, no doubt. How this man uses your blessing? That one’s on him.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Schevus

    This is a great idea. I recently gave $10 toward a fund to replace a woman’s windshield that severely cracked in the cold winter weather. I did not know the woman, but her plight resonated with me and I could spare the $10. I would say that while random acts of kindness are great, with the current times it is probably best to identify those that are actually in need. Happy Holidays!

    – Schev