Don’t Forget the Toothpaste. And the soap. And the toilet paper.
For some reason, I’ve always been interested in travel-sized products.
I remember as a kid being amazed by the little tubes of toothpaste and small bars of soap. And when I go to a place like Target that actually has a section of travel-sized items, I’m in heaven.
(Yes, I’m odd.)
While I know that most of you don’t have that kind of odd obsession, I am asking folks to consider stopping by the isle with the travel-sized items in the next few days for the Advent Hygiene Drive for Community Emergency Service. CES is a ministry in Minneapolis that has a foodshelf and other services to help those in need in south Minneapolis. About a year ago, we met Don Rudrud, a retired Lutheran pastor who volunteers with CES. He told a group of us at First that one of the things people who stop by asking him about is toilet paper. Not food. Not housing. Toilet paper.
It’s easy to not think about something so basic as toilet paper as something that is desparately needed, but when you don’t have a whole lot of money or you don’t have a home, one of things you need is…toilet paper.
It was during that visit to CES, that many of us from First noticed how few hygiene items there were in their foodshelf. People might need food, but they also want soap and shampoo to keep clean. It might not seem like much, but these things are so vital to folks who are having a hard time making ends meet.
So, when you go to Target or WalMart of wherever in the next few days, please consider going by the travel size isle or the paper isle and pick up soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste…and toilet paper.
Thanks.
Dennis Sanders
Associate Pastor
First Christian Church, Minneapolis
