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Project Dignity

serving the homeless with dignity, humility & love

A LESSON IN GRATITUDE

In this age of entitlements, gratitude can seem to be vanishing. Watch any TV commercial and you’re told over and over what you “deserve”. Hear enough of that and you start believing it. With what I see on the freeways, hear in stores and observe anywhere there are two people or more, I think the general populace is well on its way to making “please” and “Thank you” obsolete phrases.

No one holds a door open anymore, because then they wouldn’t get to be the first one in. No one gives up their seat on a bus for a mother with children, let alone a senior or disabled citizen. Don’t bother trying to get out of a driveway if there’s a lot of traffic. No one is going to give you a break because they might have to slow down for 5 seconds.

This why I am constantly amazed and touched by the acts of gratitude I see with the clients we serve in motels. I’ve seen more graciousness in their little fingers than I’ve observed in people with much, much more to be grateful for. Our clients don’t just say “Thank you” because they don’t want to offend us and want us to keep coming back. They say it because they mean it!

I was talking to a lady last Tuesday with a “World View” that made me absolutely ashamed of myself. I have so much and she has so little, yet she is thankful for literally every scrap she has and has never fails to greet us with a genuine smile and attitude of gratitude.

She told me that earlier in the day she was washing her hands and she thanked the Lord that she had running water. She thanked Him that she had a toilet, and thanked Him yet again because she has a bed to sleep in. This isn’t someone in a third world country. This is someone in one of the richest counties in the country, Orange County, California.   She can’t count on always having those things in her life, so she’s going to be grateful for them while she has them.

She had a brace on her leg because she had a knee injury. She told me she was thankful because she has a leg that hurts, when every day she sees people on the streets missing limbs.

I wish more people could meet this lady. There would be less complaining and a lot more gratitude going on. Think you have anything to complain about? Think about this dear lady that we have the privilege of serving, and think again.

 

 

 

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September 8, 2014 /// Filed Under: All Tips /// Tagged With: Adults, heart

What We Do

While we don’t feel anyone can ever fully understand the motel situation, we believe we understand it better than most. To our knowledge we are the only local organization who is focusing their services solely on the homeless population living in residential motels and we’ve been doing it since 1996.

It’s a long haul from homelessness to home, so our programs “wraparound” the challenges. Our first objective is to ease the burdens of daily living for our clients by assisting with necessities most of us take for granted–food, clothing and hygiene items.

Find out more →

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A tribute to our Founder

In 1986 doctors told Linda Dunlap she had 6 months to live and she told them the Lord knew more about that than they did. She said He had a lot more work for her to do. She proved herself and God right by living another 22 ministry-packed years.

Linda went into the motels singlehandedly with nothing more than her backpack and a few medical supplies. She won the confidence of people who had never had anyone care about them or help them before. Her belief and vision that one person can make a difference grew into 10,000 people being helped annually by Project Dignity.

Remembering Linda →

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Project Dignity

12913 Harbor Blvd., Ste. Q3, #253
Garden Grove, CA 92840

More tips like this one

  • Back to School–For Children Only?
  • Sometimes, Rules have to be Broken
  • Know When to Say When
  • Children’s Programs–For Children Only?
  • We really all are in the lifeboat of planet Earth together

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