Do you remember stickers and t-shirts some time back that had the phrase "NO FEAR" on them? We are entering a time in our world when we should heed those words because we cannot live with fear.
Open Hands has been monitoring the COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, situation closely. It is hard not to when most news programs begin their coverage with the topic each day. On a recent trip to Sam's Club I noticed limits on cases of water and the hand sanitizer was all gone. It reminds me of Y2K when people were stockpiling food and other things thinking the world was about to end. Well I could ramble on and on about that but my point, and I do have one, is that we all need to just use some common sense in following good hygiene, stay home if we are sick, and cover our coughs and sneezes. Which is why I have taken the time to craft a statement about the coronavirus that I have posted on our website home page and also on our Facebook page to keep everyone associated with our organization informed.
Do you realize we e are only 3 months away from adding our second day of meal service on Wednesday during the months of June and July. This is the time of year when YouthWorks brings youth and their adult leaders to Open Hands who will assist with our Monday and Wednesday meals as well as our Tuesday and Thursday food rescue deliveries from Kowalski's.
A few days before our final Wednesday meal of the summer, Open Hands will host our 5th Annual Golf Fundraiser & Dinner at Applewood Hills golf course in Stillwater on Sunday, July 26. We are currently working on the registration flyer which we hope to mail out in early June.
In December of 2019 we implemented our "Rules which provide a safe environment for all" policy at our meal programs which can be found on our website at www.openhandsmidway.org/program-rules. It is our duty to keep both our volunteers and our guests safe. Thus far all has worked out very well with a few minor issues that have been handled to the best of our abilities. However, this past Monday was the first time I have personally experienced something that has left me rather, well, shaken. I am not going to go into any details because I do not feel the need to revisit the unpleasant experience if I do not have to but I can tell you I was a victim of some very demeaning verbal abuse by a guest. I would like to say I am grateful it happened to me and not to one of my faithful voluneers but truthfully it should not have happened to anyone at all. My reason for sharing this is to say if you see something or hear something please tell me so we can take care of the issue before it escalates because nobody deserves to feel as I have felt for the past several days, just sayin'...
On a happier note the warmer weather is not far away. Spring begins on March 19, we have set our clocks ahead one hour to increase the amount of daylight we have at night and the birds are gathering at bird feeders (at least they are in my neighborhood). It also means outdoor bike season for me can not be all that far away. But I have had the joy of biking indoors all winter so I am still having the pleasure of the ride. I began taking Yoga this month as well, something I knew very little about but always had interest in. Wow, what a find this has been! It makes me wonder what on earth I have been avoiding all these years. The fun for me keeps mounting as in early August I will take part in a day long event known as the White Bear Dragon Boat Festival. Several of my friends have done this before and encouraged me to join in. At this point in life I thought why not so I signed up for what I imagine will be a great time, just sayin'...
As Executive Director of Open Hands Midway, I want you to know that I will do my best to keep you informed of anything that will impact you and how we serve our neighbors in need. While it should all be fun for everyone we also have to take things seriously as they arise. Working together with my Board of Directors we will always seek to make Open Hands a place that everyone feels safe and welcomed to be, just sayin'...