The Giving Tree

Offering the Homeless a Helping Hand with A Place 2 Call Home

Most people have the comfort of knowing they can lay their head down on a pillow, under warm blankets, in their own bed and in their own home. Unfortunately, there are many people who don’t have the luxury of having a place to call home, and one teenager in Colorado witnessed this first hand and decided to do something to help. Kristen Thomas and two of her friends collect items for care packages that they distribute to those in need in the Denver area. Some of the items they collect are toys, toiletries, baby food and bibles, and they bring a ministry to the homeless as well.

Kristen came up with the idea for her non-profit program, A Place 2 Call Home, when she went to Denver on a trip with her father. While they were driving, Kristen saw a lot of people who could use a helping hand to get back on their feet, and Kristen wanted to do something about it. “A Place 2 Call Home gives the homeless a step in the right direction – toward shelters,” Kristen says on the program’s Web site, http://aplace2callhome.tripod.com/.

A Place 2 Call Home is constantly looking for donations for care packages. Soap, shampoo, blankets, food (canned or dried), first aid items, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bibles, children’s books and toys, crayons and coloring books, baby blankets, bottles and powdered milk top the list of needed supplies. For more information on how you can help Kristen’s cause, you may e-mail her at aplace2callhome@lycos.com. For information on how you can help the homeless in your area, you may also visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Web site at http://www.hud.gov/homeless/index.cfm.

Know someone under the age of 18 who has started their own charity? If so, let us know!