Razors

The following blog post was written by Alexa Walcott, a dedicated volunteer at The Mustard Seed. You can view Alexa's blog at: http://goinganddoing.wordpress.com/

 Having the ability to head to the store and get whatever I need is just one of the MANY things I take for granted. A few weeks ago I was volunteering at The Mustard Seed, a local organization that builds community, grows hope and supports change by providing food, shelter and opportunity for many of the homeless in our city.

My job that night was to work in the “hygiene room” handing out towels, clean socks, shampoo, soap and other toiletries. I watched as a bus load of guests walked towards my room after a long day. Many of them had been working and were just looking forward to a hearty meal and a hot shower. I handed out dozens of towels, what seemed like an endless supply of shampoo and all sort of socks. But I kept getting a request for one item, that was out of stock.

A razor.

I cannot tell you in words how heartbreaking it was to see the dozens of disappointed looks I received when I had to say “I’m sorry, we don’t have any more razors.” The Mustard Seed relies on items like this to be donated, and for 3 weeks were out of razors. Two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was “man, it’s so unfair that these people are being denied such a basic thing” and the second was “how on earth, in a city of over a MILLION people, has nobody donated razors?”

Then it hit me. I was part of that million, and had I done anything about it? No. I hadn’t.

So maybe I’m just one person, and maybe I can’t get The Mustard Seed the full supply of razors that they need, but I can certainly help. And I can ask my friends to help. And my friends can ask their friends to help. And…well I think you see where this is going.

So, here’s my plea. This week, I am going to drop off razors for The Mustard Seed and I’m going to ask everyone that lives in Calgary who reads this post to do the same. Then tell your family and friends about this need and together we will be able to provide something so practical to some people who I know will really appreciate it. Specifically, a man who we will call Martin – and I’ll tell you about him later.

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