Orlando Rescue Mission

January 11, 2010

The beginning of 2010 was very cold for most Floridians; we had record low temperatures and even snow!  Unfortunately, we have thousands of people living in the streets of central Florida, and most of them are not prepared to handle freezing temperatures. Luckily, many people donated winter clothing during the fall, and I already had plans to donate it to the homeless. I had over 900 winter clothing items, canned food, and books! On January 9th, I rented a U-Haul truck and decided to take all the donations to the Coalition for the Homeless. I contacted Central Florida News 13 and they promised they would do a story about the homeless project. I contacted the Coalition that afternoon and confirmed that I would take the donations at 10 PM. The Coalition said it was perfectly fine to donate anything at anytime. With this confirmation, I drove the U-Haul truck packed with donations to the Coalition for the Homeless. I called the coalition five minutes before arriving to confirm my presence and their location; everything seemed to be okay. I arrived at the same time News 13 did: 10 PM. I called the receptionist, the person confirming all this information with me, to tell her that I had arrived. She told me that someone would be at the gate to open it for me. However, security would not let me in. He said that donations were not being accepted at that time. I called the receptionist again, and she said she would call the security guard, and tell him to let me in. I later called her back five minutes later, and she said that I had misunderstood her; I couldn't donate anything past 6 PM.

If that is true, I would understand. However, I spoke with the receptionist many times before arriving, so there is no excuse for that rule. I had to leave the Coalition without donating anything. News 13 witnessed everything, including my conversation with the Coalition representative, and unfortunately, no story was published. The next day, I called the Coalition back to see if I could drop off the donations, and they said no. I later ended up at the Orlando Rescue Mission. They gladly accepted the donations; they even gave me a tour of the facility. Fortunately, I was able to distribute clothes for many people that were in the streets of Orlando with no proper winter clothing.

I want to thank Central Florida News 13 for their intentions, and at the same time apologize for the inconvenience the Coalition caused. I also want to thank the Orlando Rescue Mission for their good attitude toward my work. 

This is also the first successful Beyond the Wall project in 2010.  I want to point out that this campaign not only helps Colombia, but everywhere possible.  This time, I had the opportunity to help the needy in my country, and I will continue to do so whenever I can.