From the Trenches: More Than Two Front Teeth . . .
from the entire Survivors Campus Outreach Team:
Throughout the year, the Survivors team pinches pennies to stay on the road. We make every donation go as far as possible by shopping in the discounted grocery section, going out of our way for cheaper gas, and doing without heating and hot water in our old but still serviceable office. Donations translate almost penny for penny into signs, literature, gas for our van, food for the team, ink for the printer, etc. We’re frugal. There are many things we could use and would love to have, but we would never buy on our own. Instead, we’re asking for them for Christmas. Our biggest Christmas wish is to save babies from abortion. You can help our Christmas wish come true by providing these helpful tools, new or used:
1.) Not Even When Series Pamphlets - We use these pamphlets up really fast - especially those about rape and the life of the mother. We are almost out, but can’t afford to order another shipment before the Spring Semester begins.
2.) Fetal models - Everyone we meet is amazed to see the development of babies in the womb. The set of fetal models that we use at our table on campuses is rather worn from being handled so often.
We could use two sets of the smaller models and one of the larger sets , especially models of Hispanic babies.
3.) Rubbermaid bins - We carry everything in these - literature, chalk, bullhorns, etc. - and use them until they break apart. We wear through the ten gallon size bins fastest and the 15 gallon size second fastest.
4.) A new camera bag - We can easily fit three cameras and spare batteries into our old camera bag, but the clasp is broken.
5.) Still shot camera -Our camera works -- most of the time -- but is on it’s way out. The zoom is temperamental, and frequently stops working during activism and outreach events. We’ve missed quite a few wonderful shots when the zoom broke at a critical time.
6.) Small voice amplifier - We would use this when we’re sidewalk counseling at abortion mills where we don’t have the opportunity to speak with mothers up close.
7.) Portable sound system - The sound system we have now is too bulky to take anywhere without budgeting in almost an hour for transporting it and setting it up. A portable sound system on wheels would be much easier to take with us to presentations and other speaking events.
8.) [Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf gift cards - As a team, we have dumped Starbucks. We can’t afford to go out for coffee right now, but would love to be able to on cold mornings after sidewalk counseling!
We even found a deal on four gift cards at Costco!
9.) Bikes - We would love to have a few bikes available to exercise and relax on the weekends.
This is Costco's deal! Click here
10.) GPS system - We use our phones for GPS now, but if we’re using a phone for GPS, we can’t use it to take pictures, answer emails, etc.
11.) Mac laptop with Adobe Creative Cloud - Let’s face it, Macs are better computers for editing videos and graphic design. We would love to be able to produce more videos, but our current computers just aren’t up to the task.
12.) Used Car - A car would use less gas than the van for running errands, and on the few weekends when we are in Southern California with time off, we would be able to drive to the mountains or to the beach.
13.) Standing rib roast - A festive dinner would be a nice treat when we get back!
Receiving any of these would be a wonderful blessing.* Thank you for your support and kindness!
Merry Christmas,
The Survivors Campus Outreach Team
*All donations are tax-deductible.