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West Sacramento Sun

I Am Not Lost

Feb 02, 2016 12:00AM ● By By Justin Gourley

All For You Home Care wrapped the jackets and scarves around the tree trunks and lined the pockets with gloves, mittens, and hats - leaving them for anyone in need. Photo courtesy All For You Home Care

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If you were recently in downtown Sacramento at Cesar Chavez Park, you may have witnessed a peculiar sight: trees adorned with jackets, hats, scarves, and mittens. This was not some silly prank, but rather a heartfelt donation.

All For You Home Care, an in-home caregiving service, arranged a unique way to help the homeless stay warm through these cold winter months. They wrapped the jackets and scarves around the tree trunks and lined the pockets with gloves, mittens, and hats — leaving them for anyone in need. And with a clever card pinned in place, reading in bold letters, “I am not lost...If you are stuck out in the cold, please take me to keep warm,” making sure these donations would land in the right hands.

“Every day I drive down Howe Avenue, past Arden, and I see so many homeless. It breaks my heart,” Danielle Gourley, director of All For You Home Care, said. “I saw the idea online and instantly knew this was something we had to do.”

And so the staff at All For You Home Care embarked on a mission to gather as many donations as they could. With generous charities from Bristol Hospice, McIlwain Mobility, Neil Orchard Senior Activities Center, and the caregivers of All For You Home Care, the staff was able to collect nearly one hundred and fifty articles of clothing. Even the seniors at Neil Orchard donated by hand-knitting scarves.

The sheer number of people affected by this small gesture was overwhelming. Before the volunteers could take a breath, people in need flocked to them, giving thanks and asking for assistance in finding the right size jacket or hat. Smiles were infectious as men wrapped their necks in scarves and women exuded joy as they found that perfect coat.

And so even if Christmas has passed, we can still be reminded how good it feels to give a gift straight from the heart. A special thanks goes out to Jane Anderson, Dana Zimbitska, and Selma McIlwain for volunteering their time to help set up this event.

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