Merry Christmas from: Anonymous (2021appeal)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/12/22/philadelphia-man-christmas-cards-homeless/%3famp



In the hustle and bustle of life we walk  past that homeless “person” who asks if we can spare a dime and we with great skepticism give up 10 cents or cast our eyes downwardly with the "I can't help you" defense.

For safety reasons, right?! But the truth is, that person is your neighbor, they live in shelters where there is room and where there is not, they sleep below us in the subways. Beyond our front steps on the streets, bundled under cardboard boxes in the rain and snow, in bathrooms they hid in safety and in public parks they are rounded up removed or worse washed away. These neighbors for whatever the circumstances of their lives, are like you and I trying to live. Some of these neighbors have a hard time finding employment, I reflect on the horrific sarcasm of the idea that “if you can ask for a dime you can ask if you would like fries with that.” But this cold response does not take into account the realities real life places upon many of our neighbors. Ever tried to get a job without and address? For reasons of disability, death, displacement, and illness, for many; life depends purely on of the generosity and kindness of strangers like you and me.




I'm privileged to serve and know these neighbors through opportunities like St Johns Hospice and the Saturday mornings Soup Bowl at St. Marks Church. Enriched by their truths, I have come to know the most awful experience one can have when homeless is the the lack of humanity offered them, an expectation we with homes take for granted every day.  If we think we achieved anything without the help of others we have forgotten to look down and note upon who’s shoulders we stand.




For many years, Merry Christmas from Anonymous, now a group of individuals dedicated to handing out anonymous gifts to less fortunate members of our society who are without homes or shelter, has given Christmas cards stuffed with cash, and gift cards for food, to our neighbors who are without homes during the Yuletide season. From Christmas Eve to New Years day, neighbors walk the street of Philadelphia delivering joy one person at a time. The outpouring of support in recent years due to your generosity has made it possible to make a larger impact. Our partnership with GoFundMe has since 2017 made it easy to allow you to donate to this worthy cause.  Join me in the 2021 appeal as we raise money to make merry the streets of Philadelphia and provide however small a neighborly gift to those who are left to sleep on them.




The dignity that a monetary gift in cash provides our neighbors is a gift in and of itself. Thank you for your continued and  exemplary support.




Yours,

David Alexander Jenkins
founder Merry Christmas From Anonymous.