So I guess I'll plug my project here.

I came up with this idea in 2003, and I've been doing it ever since. Last year I gave it a name and started working on taking it out of my garage. It's called ZeroApathy. The basic idea is that I'd like to do away with our general day-to-day apathy towards the invisible needy around us - the guys with 'Anything Helps' signs that we inevitability ignore any time of the year that isn't Christmas. Now, it's impossible to stamp out apathy for good, but I like to encourage the idea of purposely seeking an opportunity to put someone in need first.

In cooperation with my local Gospel Mission, I created a special food bag. Each bag is a gallon Ziploc with enough non perishible food for about two days - 2 cup noodles, 4 packets of instant oatmeal, hot choclate, instant coffee, tea, sweetners, hard candies and a handful of energy bars, enough to keep you going - and a pair of socks. Having talked to a lot of the local homeless, one thing they need but rarely are given is clean socks, which can make the difference between a good nights sleep and catching pneumonia or something. So far I've been making these bags on my own and distributing them through my friends, my old boy scout troop, my sister's girl scouts, and my church, but I've been trying to take it online for awhile.

The main problem with these bags is that they're spendy. Each bag only costs a few bucks, but buying everything in bulk is a big chunk outta my paycheck and I don't get many donations. Ideally I'd like to set up a system where I make a bunch of the bags, pack them up, and 'sell' them online. So like, someone could order a box of ten of these to keep in their car for like $30 + shipping. The 'profit' from the money sent would go to buy more materials and keep it going.

If anyone actually read that wall of text and thinks they might be interested, lemme know. As much paypalling and driving around on hunting trips, it seems this would be a natural way to fit a little humanitarian effort into our regular routine.


And these really are effective. I had one guy burst into tears when he saw the socks (and then showed me how bad his socks were), I had a guy take the bag, run off, and come back trailing a woman and they both came over and hugged me - they'd been kicked out of their apartment after he lost his job, and they'd been living in a crappy motel for a few weeks and had been going on o only a meal a day so they could keep a roof over their head. Another guy told me I'd given him one before and I'd probably saved his life. It kinda makes you feel real warm inside, I tell ya.

I think getting together to try and donate comics, toys, and maybe even cash to some kids hospitals is a great idea. This being a toy thread and all. Maybe even orphanages. There's a St Joseph's Children Home here. I actually lived there for two years as a child.

I know that would be a good place to consider sending some love. I could except donations, do the leg work. Maybe we could get other forms involved as well.

That sounds awesome Boba. I love that you have instant coffee in there! Think I'll make me a cup right now. A must have.

Do people just hand these out to homeless on the street? Are they distributed in shelters?

It's more of an individual thing. I keep a few in my car and hand them out to the guys at freeway offramps and big intersections when I'm stopped at the light. There was a guy at the local shelter who wanted to distribute them and use the money donation system so that people could donate, say, $5, and for every donation the shelter got they would make and give out one bag and use the rest to cover more materials... it never went through though, and I'm not quite sure why... I was busy in high school at the time though, so I didn't really think much about following up on that until now. I'm pretty sure I could get a system like that going myself. I have an ebay store, and I'm pretty used to taking orders and shipping stuff, and I could set up a new paypal account to cover it. There's really a lot of options.

Helpful tip of the day from the M3T4L V1KING: If someone makes a joke about your misery (minor misery that is), proceed to NOT flip shit. Though the comment may have been mean; if you proceed to overreact, you will come across as the "bad guy".

Sort of on/off the topic:

Church clothing drives for Africa do work. After having spent 5 months there last year, I've seen proof of it.

That is...unless Motorhead is touring in Chad, Kansas State Highway Patrol has an outreach program in Freetown and the Denver Broncos have a farm team in Sierra Leone.

i care too much i think , im only an young adult and there isnt much i can do at he moment but everyday from college all i hear on the news is pretty much death , each day mostly either from car crash or something , and i think accidents and that are going up and that good news has became some what rare these days i dont think i have heard any good news apart from when i watch furturama any how it sickerns me to think that the police or anyone isnt doing anything about it but im sure they are. although its that high its very difficult to do which i can imagine although rathar not ashame that nothing big is happening about this but the question that pops up now and then in my mind is jail really good enough why not just kil- this is the part where my sub-consious kicks in after reading comics watching superhero episodes says no , it maybe easy but it doesnt mean its right. so im a no killing person but i want to know why others do it.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say there.

I have a tip..

Don't ever say; "is it hot enough for you?" to someone when you can't make conversation.

put the bong away.. enough for you today. ;)

It's hard to understand why anyone would hurt/kill anyone for any reason.

Some people are just messed up. sometimes it happens out of fear or desperation but for many I just believe it's in their nature.

The horrors of life are hard to face, but it's something I feel no one should turn away for. Not being directly effected by these awful things can make it easy for some to go about their lives without giving it much thought at all. Some people even go out of their way to ignore the tragic nature of our world just to feel better. This is the worst kind of weakness in my opinion.

I believe everyone should focus on their lives, families, friends, and the pursuit of personal happiness. But not at the expense of all those who are in fact suffering.

The thing about justices is everyone feels entitled to it. Many of these people expect someone to come to their rescue at a moments notice. But fail to see the hypocrisy in not being willing to fight injustice as it occurs to others. This mindset only leads to more pain, violence, and suffering. It also facilitates an escalation of said problems and an increased probability of something bad happening to ones-self and loved-ones.

It's up to everyone to do their part. Even something as small as being informed can help. But efforts no mater how small add up. And in the end can lead to a much better world.

Don't feel to down about it, it can be overwhelming. But your hearts in the right place. It's important that you find your way to happiness without loosing sight of those who are less fortunate. Keep an open mind and one day you'll find a way to help. May come sooner than later.

Helpful tip of the day from the M3T4L V1KING: If you're in a place, like a restaurant, and the server gets your order wrong, feel free to say so. Don't be rude or obnoxious, but be polite and point it out. Most of the time, the server will apologize and correct his or herself.

Edit: Wrong forum.

Of course you correct their mistake and of course they will fix it. But you're right never be rude about it. Mistakes happen and servers do a lot of running around. It's a hard job and some people really run the shit out of you.

Better tip for restaurant dinning. Try and know what you want with your meal. If you like special sauces or extra dressing or whatever let your server know so he/she doesn't have to make a shit ton of trips. Makes things better on everyone, you get what you want when you want it wait less, and the server has more time to wait on other tables and to do running side-work. :Spidey

i would like to take a moment to express my heart felt sympathies to the families of those poor unfortunate souls who lost their lives at the recent batman screening incident in colorado.im sure there are people on the Ark who are just as shocked and saddened by these events as i am.

i agree with the momentum of this thread, I would rather buy toys for underprivileged children than my own (wife's kids). Every toy,video game, computer, piece of furniture we have ever bought them is broken or destroyed. I hate wasting money, I will be at least doing the Christmas tree thing in the mall this year for needy families/kids.

never piss off people who handle your food. Unless something will make me sick (dairy products) I'll just eat it.