Jay and Tamara North are nothing if not giving. They are active in the Fulltime Families community and are often seen donating their time to those in it. However, they don’t limit themselves to this community alone. In fact, they make a point of reaching out to people in communities all across the country.
Jay and Tamara
How do they go about this? Well, we’re sure they are a bright spot in many communities for many different reasons, but one way they go about it is…
Creating and Donating Homeless Bags to Those in Need
Homeless bags contain essentials such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and combs, giving a boost to those who need it most.
Volunteers create homeless bags.
“Building the bags is fun in finding the items that the homeless need or could use, in sizes that are transportable and can fit into a 1-gallon ziplock type bag,” Jay tells us. “Delivery is always fun— when you can watch them turn the bag over, looking at what’s inside, and their smile increases with each discovery.”
Growing the Effort
The Norths have given their bags away in numerous cities all over the US, and at this point thousands have been distributed. However, they weren’t content to stop there. They wanted to share the joy of giving with their friends and grow to reach even more people in need. Therefore, they reached out to the RVing community and offered other traveling families a chance to help out.
RVers gathered to help out.
They created an organization which they have fittingly dubbed Houseless for the Homeless and hosted their first group project in January of 2020. That project was a joint effort between Houseless for the Homeless, Nomadic Families, and Fulltime Families, and a total of 16 families participated in the project. Each participant donated something to be put into the bags, and the families worked together to assemble the bags during the event.
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“Our goal is simply to spread as many homeless bags to the homeless as possible,” say the Norths. “It doesn’t need to be done through Houseless for the Homeless, the organization is simply to get people together and to spread the method.”
When all was said and done, the participants assembled a total of 140 homeless bags. These were distributed evenly between the families, who will be gifting the bags to homeless individuals they meet during their travels, spreading love farther and wider than Jay and Tamara would ever be able to reach on their own.
Join in Now
The Norths are truly inspiring, and we’re guessing those first 16 families are just a few of the many who will help them grow Houseless for the Homeless. Do you want to help out? They are always looking for helpers!
“We don’t have any new events planned currently,” Jay explains. “But, we will be adding the capabilities to our website for any group to use our resources to have a Houseless for the Homeless event.”