The Gateway House Homeless Shelter is one of my favorite organizations around. Any place that offers refuge to a person or persons who find themselves without a roof over their heads, a blanket to stay warm, and food for the body and soul is doing the work of angels. People become homeless for so many different reasons, and none of us should ever take our blessings for granted. A loss of a job, an illness, or a death could change our circumstances dramatically and in an instant.
In my debut novel, Painted Windows, our beloved character Ruby did not meet the requirements for staying at a homeless shelter. Not only did she not have identification, she did not know her true identity. And, she was an unaccompanied minor. Or at least she assumed she was a minor. Instead Ruby survived the same way that so many homeless individuals do--moving from place to place, taking shelter in abandoned buildings, barns, houses, outbuildings, etc. and scrapping for food any way possible.
And this is why, when my debut novel, Painted Windows, was first published, I vowed to donate the initial proceeds from the sale of that book and the two sequels to Ruby's story (Dashboard Lights and Ruby Ring) to a homeless charity.
Recently, I found my way back to The Gateway House Homeless Shelter in Morehead, Kentucky, and it was an honor to donate a signed copy of each book for the shelter's Reading Nook and a check for for those initial proceeds! With the cold weather around the corner and Christmas soon to be here, these items will hopefully bring comfort to many lives that have been turned upside down by life's circumstances.
Accepting the donations on behalf of The Gateway House, was Marilyn Smith, the shelter's director.
Remember...Christmas and the Holiday Season are about the spirit of giving...not getting. When struggling to think of what to get that person who seems to have everything they need, why not make a monetary donation or a donation of goods in their name to one of these organizations, like The Gateway House, that strive to give something to a person who has nothing! This will be the most appreciated and greatest gift ever!
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