After a successful inaugural season of Echos for Hope, we wanted to start the second year off with an event that our members really enjoyed. We chose to visit Safe Haven Family Shelter. We had an amazing visit there in the spring and everyone was so excited to return.
Safe Haven Family Shelter helps families experiencing homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee, have a safe home where they can stay until they can get on their feet. They can house up to ten families.
I could tell my Echos friends and missed volunteering. Why, you ask? This was the largest volunteer group we had to date! We had over 15 volunteers gather at Safe Haven. It was amazing!
On the menu for a beautiful summer night in August – hot dogs and all the fixings! We included chili, coleslaw, potato salad, chips, watermelon, cookies, and drinks. We had made enough for 40 people but to our delight, the shelter was at its lowest housing number in years, only hosting 15 that night. Not to worry, nothing went to waste. After we made sure all of the residents had food, each of the Echos kids grabbed some food too! We joined the residents for a night of laughter, smiles, and stories.
When we finished, my mom and the other adults helped clean up while the Echos group played with the kids. We had brought some coloring books and crayons from our Jumbled Dreams partners, Recycled Rainbows and Faces of the Endangered. I’m not sure who enjoyed coloring the most! When we were about to leave, we asked if it was ok to leave our special crayons and coloring books in the activity room for others to enjoy, and the children promised to take good care of them for us if we would.
As we said our goodbyes and drove away we were all grateful for another opportunity to serve and provide hope in a jumbled world.
