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Hello, angel friends. This
message will be primarily for those in the USA. So many people have already
asked about JoAnn Cayce and her upcoming needs that I thought I??™d better get
that information out for all you organized people who have already started your
Christmas shopping. First I??™d like to take a few paragraphs and explain this to
those who have joined the list just during this past year.
In the early ???90??™s I read
about JoAnn Cayce, a woman who lives in Thornton, Arkansas who, with her
extended family, has been caring for the poor people there for over 40 years.
The newspapers had dubbed her the ???Mother Teresa of Central Arkansas??? (she??™s not
Catholic but it??™s a good name!). I began sending garage sale clothing, shoes
and toys to her and in the process, got educated about the rural poor. There
are no soup kitchens, shelters, or transportation to jobs in these areas, and
many of the poorest never have the basic necessities.
I got to know the Cayce
family well. I was not the only ???helper;??? JoAnn had a growing number but the
minute she received donations, she would give them out so her needy families
increased. In 2002, I told the people on this list about JoAnn, and suggested
that perhaps we could do something humble but wonderful for the people of
Thornton. We could send them socks. The results were amazing.
Not only did the area there
receive over 25,000 pairs of socks from the earth angels on this list (and the
friends they sent information to), but people also sent clothes, toys, WalMart
gift certificates to exchange for food, and countless other things. Many, like
me, decided to ???stay on??? as a helper, and now send JoAnn boxes all year long.
The family has been at it so long that recently, they took on about a hundred
extra children, all from Hurricane Katrina, and were able to not only clothe
them but also provide school supplies out of what we sent. This Thanksgiving,
they are planning to give out almost 1000 food boxes, with a donation of
chickens from Tyson (last year, they had no meat to give out). Daniel, JoAnn??™s
teenage grandson, is very involved with an infant feeding program and managed to
get a large company to donate baby food this year (Daniel distributed it) and a
factory donated a huge bunch of used coats, and those too, were given out.
JoAnn sends everyon! e who donates an update letter now and then, and the hard
cases could make us all cry, except for the spirit of this wonderful family.
So??¦??¦that is why, during the
next six weeks or so, you might get an additional letter from me, spelling out
the specific happenings going on in Thornton. If you already have a charity
that you are working with, please keep it up. I suggest helping the Cayces only
because a) they know where the need is, and b) we know that the boxes get there
and are distributed, sometimes within hours, to the people who need them most.
It??™s completely up to you.
As to Thornton, what do
they need?
This year it??™s children??™s
underwear in all sizes. A major need. JoAnn also mentioned knitted caps and
mittens. (People forget that it gets very cold in Arkansas in January and
February, and many children can??™t go to school then because they have no
outerwear.) Soap and other hygiene products. Baby clothes. And then, of
course, the usual clothing, toys etc. Yes, you can send used items (most of my
donations come from garage sales); we just ask that they are in working order or
intact. (No holes in the socks!). It??™s a good project for families,
especially if your toys are being outgrown; the sacrifice comes in paying the
UPS postage which can really be high. If we get any truckers going to Thornton
again this year, I??™ll be sure to give you that information; if they??™re stopping
near you, you can send things for free. By the way, I??™ve already been asked if
anyone is driving through the Cedar Falls/Waterloo Iowa. If so, please contact
me; a lady there has many boxes to donate.
Send anything to: JoAnn
Cayce Charities, 315 South Second St., Thornton Arkansas 71766. Note: they do
not have a website, and don??™t usually answer the phone or email right away.
Your donations and postage are tax deductible as JoAnn is a registered charity.
PS: I??™ll be at a new angel
store this Saturday afternoon, November 12, called In the Wings, in
Hendersonville Tennessee (126 Stadium Dr). If you live nearby, please come and
say hello.
Thanks to all of you for
being so kind and generous.
Joan Wester-Anderson
You can join Joan??™s
mailing list at
http://hundred-acre-woods.com/magic-list/WhereAngelsWalk/
"Where Angels Walk" is
distributed by hundred-acre-woods.com You can contact list-master ( Joan
Anderson ) by email:
joan@joanwanderson.com
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