50 Coats for a 50th Birthday

So this February I turn 50. Part of me is really surprised that I’m fifty because in my head I feel about 30.  But some mornings when I wake up and crawl out of bed, I’m shocked that I’m only 50, my body feels 100 with its aches and pains, and God forbid I have to get on the floor.  I seriously don’t think I could get back up without help.

You may or may not know that I’m working in New York City until March, but you should know by now that I hate winter and I hate the cold weather.  One morning last week, I woke up in our hotel room, and it was freezing! I was under two down comforters, and I was freezing.  I couldn’t understand why until I dragged my creaky body out of bed and discovered we had left the window open all night.

I crawled back into bed, burrowed deep under the two down comforters and pulled out my phone and caught up with what was going on in the social media world.  With the nightmare that happened on November 8^th, I have unfollowed, hidden, unfriended or blocked so many friends that now my Facebook is filled with like-minded people and it was my dear friend Coury who reacted to an ad that ended up being shared on my Facebook page that made me pause for a minute.

I suddenly I felt awful about complaining that I was freezing cold under my two down comforters in my hotel room.  A hotel room that I am living in for the next four months.  All of a sudden I felt awful about complaining about my creaky bones.  All of a sudden I felt awful complaining about not being able to get off the floor because of my knees.

This company employs single parents and as a former single parent I was already in love with this company.  They employ these people and train them to become seamstresses.  They teach them to make the product and provides them a way out of homelessness. The product is a jacket that turns into a sleeping bag. They have provided jobs to 34 homeless families, all of which have gotten houses and are no longer homeless.  Since 2012 they have given over 15,000 coats to people in need across the US and Canada. The company is called The Empowerment Plan and it is a company I want to help.

If you know me, you know that I hate making a big deal about my birthday.  I don’t like the attention and I don’t like the “what do you want for your birthday” question. I do like cake, but I can get cake anytime of the year.  This birthday is different.  This birthday I will be 50 and that is a milestone, so they say.  So here is my wish.  I want to be able to donate 50 coats to The Empowerment Plan and this is where you come in, I need your help.  My birthday is February 9.  That is 2 months for us to come together and show everyone that we are still good people at heart.  We care about our fellow humans and we care even more about our fellow humans who need some help.  I realize 50 coats, might be a lofty ask, since each coat is $100, but let’s see what we can do.

If you go here and make any size donation you can, it would make me a very happy birthday girl.