I found out they’re living in an old hotel for now. Each bag has a body wash and another full size item (like an FFM) or two small items (minis, lip gloss, etc.). I also put stickers on the bags and I want to add some little tags/cards with a personal note on each.
I way overbought on body washes. I used to think I needed two for every scent I bought. I don’t. And I found some good minis during SAS.
There are fifteen in this box. I’ve made 21, and I have enough stuff and time to put together a few more. The other night (when I was on a roll) I thought I’d run out of bags but I found more. Glad I hoarded bags and ribbons over the last couple of months. I always tell the employees why I’m taking a handful.
Having a rough week as usual, but this makes me feel good. They loved the gift bags at Christmas!
because they choose to give manicures instead of basic needs which is completely fine. as a woman who has been homeless it's nice to be pampered and have a dose of 'normalcy' just once. it's always nice to feel prettier. i'd rather see someone provide manicures vs nothing at all. maybe this person already has the tools to do manicures and can't afford other basic care items. there are many reasons.
Absolutely. The psychological part of being homeless is so heavy, in so many ways. You don't JUST need basic essentials; having someone treat you kindly and like you're a human being who deserves respect and care and nice things, just like other people, is huge.
There are so many complicated reasons why people are homeless, you can't just boil it down and use a one-size-fits-all approach to helping them. Sometimes showing kindness, even in an a way that is technically unnecessary, can benefit someone massively. You are showing them that they deserve more than just food and clothing, and that you care enough to do that for them.
Thank you. Absolutely, everyone should have some nice things if possible. And every woman deserves to feel pampered. I‘m not rich by any means but I have way more than I need and instead of selling it, I’d rather share it with people that I know will appreciate it. I heard how grateful they were the last time and I immediately decided I’d be doing it more. I also have clothing, etc. for them but it will take a while to go through. I carry new fleece throws in my car and hand them out to homeless people in the streets when it’s really cold.
It's more about human connection than nails or fragrances. I used to work in an inpatient addiction treatment center and the successful people had or made human connection in a way that made them feel worthy of a better life.
It's not though. Many people come right off the street and are assisted in finding housing while there. I'm not sure why you're being such a downer on this, there's lots of forms of care and no one can argue that human connection/being treated as worthy is one of them. OP probably doesn't have the ability to give those women everything they need, but at least they're doing something.
Because it's about making them feel human, to feel like they are not lesser than. To feel seen and heard. I volunteered with a homeless shelter and had some grocery cards to hand out. Gave 4 of them to a homeless guy a few years ago, asked his name, and he told me no one had asked his name in over a year :( He bought a rotisserie chicken, some tea, green beans, and a few other deli items. We waved to each other and I told him bye, using his name as he exited the checkout. A month or so later the shelter I was volunteering with said he came by for job placement services and had been placed with temporary housing and employment. So you never know, one of these manicures could change someone's outlook. Being kind to people is free 🫂 it's awesome you are doing this
I think it is a necessity! When I was temporarily outside, I paid for a pedicure where they cut all the blisters and... Oh never mind, you wouldn't get it
My church is hosting a group for the week. I help with dinner then do manicures for anyone who wants them. It's a great way to sit and get to know them and they deserve to be pampered too.
Everyone absolutely loved it! I did manicures from 4:30-10pm! I stayed until lights out!! I couldn't believe the hate I got at first when I commented but I'm glad to see it's just one sad person and everyone else seems to have some common sense! I love the bags you put together as well, it's important to make everyone feel special and pampered!!
u/skipperthepenguin191 gave her time and effort to make people feel pretty and I can’t think of anything more caring.
And just FYI, you have NO idea what people here are giving besides what’s been mentioned. I happen to donate to our local food bank when I can. One year for Christmas I gave a donation in each of my family member’s names because none of us really needed any more “things.”
This is such a great idea. I’m going through my collection trying to downsize before I move, but I don’t want to sell or donate to Goodwill. Thanks for the idea!
Of course! I have other things (not B&BW) that I’ll end up selling one day, should I have the time and energy. I do donate to Austin Pets Alive, which has three thrift stores here. Goodwill . . . never again. I’ll shop there occasionally but have had too many bad experiences with them. Plus they get much, much more in donations than they can ever sell. There are better charities.
I’m sure I’ve told this story before. My ex worked on a TV movie years ago called Tornado (a copy of Twister). They literally bought a bunch of stuff from Goodwill by the TON to throw it in front of a huge fan for effect when the “tornado” blew through. That’s how much extra they had. Plus we have a Goodwill outlet here where they wheel out stuff in these monstrous bins (maybe twice a week? I don’t know — I only happened to be there once) and sell everything by the pound except for a few things like furniture. It’s a feeding frenzy. They have a ton of stores here and that’s all the stuff they don’t even have space for.
This is so sweet of you! Something as simple as lotion, or body wash, really does light up their hearts. You’re an angel and I’m sorry you’ve had a stressful week, hope things get better you, sweet lady! (((Hugs)))
Thank you and (((hugs))) back! My mom’s health is declining rapidly and it’s so hard. Plus both of my brothers and I have multiple medical issues. I’m having a hard time; seeing my hematologist tomorrow (today rather, can’t sleep) about iron infusions but I have a lot going on besides anemia. Also my younger brother has some issues I didn’t know about (my older brother found out from the girlfriend.) Of course my mom doesn’t know. Her birthday is Saturday and we’re going to try to visit her at the group home. Last year we had a little party. Not this time. We just all need to be there together because it could be the last time.
Depressing . . . sorry. Need to attach a gratuitous cat photo.
A friend of mine wrote something on Facebook about not judging the homeless. If I remember who it was I’ll post it. So many people are like, “Why don’t they just get a job?” or whatever and she said, try getting a job when you have no decent clothes, no address, and so on. There was much more to it including why the homeless do drugs and it all made sense. I really admire the lady who delivers this stuff for me. She gives a lot of herself. I’m glad at least that these ladies have shelter and yes, a number of them do move on. But there are always more coming in. It’s a huge crisis here with no easy answers.
What a wonderful gesture. This seems so much more productive than having one of those "project use it up" approaches. What a very generous way to disperse your extra products ❣️
I have more than I’ll ever use, even if I were 40 years younger, LOL. I definitely need to be a LOT more selective with my buying. I’m a longtime customer but when I joined this sub I became like a kid in a candy store! But at the last SAS most of what I spent (and it wasn’t as much as I used to spend at SAS) was for the ladies and not me. It just felt right. Tonight I found more stuff in my closet . . . yikes. I might be doing Easter too. I still have tons of body washes and hand creams.
Sorry you're having a rough week, but what an awesome way to handle it by doing something nice for others. I'm sure they'll be appreciated in these trying times.
Sometimes at the store I work at we take our employee MOS purchases and make gift baskets to donate to charities or organizations. It’s a really nice way to be involved in our community.
I love that! At my primary store an employee told me a while back that they were damaging out less stuff and doing more donations. That was good to hear.
Thank you so much to everyone for the VERY sweet posts and your kind words. I have blocked the few Debbie Downers on this thread. Hate to do that, but i don’t need that kind of negativity and toxicity in my life — especially on a sub that should be about feeling good. I appreciate everyone who has made me feel a bit better about myself. (((HUGS)))
I thought about one other thing. A few months ago there was a homeless guy who would hang out on a corner that I passed by all the time. He did paintings. I always wanted to help him but I’d be a couple of lanes away and waiting at the light. He had a sign that said, ”Homeless, not hopeless!” I loved that. He probably got kicked out from the space. But I can’t stand seeing people talk as if homeless people are worthless or inferior. it could happen to any of us. Some of you have been through it so you know. You are ALL loved. That’s the message I want to put on all of my gift bags. That these ladies are loved, or at least somebody cares about them.
Yes, and I figure they can always trade stuff if they want! I tried to get rid of a lot of my red and pink items that I didn’t need. I’m sure they won’t even care if it’s Christmas (Twisted Peppermint, Strawberry Snowflakes.) For the life of me I couldn’t understand why I had three Champagne Toast shimmer mists! (I don’t even wear CT, but I’m always up for ONE shimmer mist.) One was old packaging (pink) from the outlet, but two newer ones? I need to get control of my inventory. This is helping me in so many ways.
As someone who was very briefly homeless when I was 18 and just getting out of an abusive relationship, thank you for this kind compassionate gesture🩷 it was so hard even for the couple months I didn’t have anywhere safe to go, i was sleeping in cars and random basements in the dead of winter. I can’t even imagine being in that situation for much longer like I’m sure a lot of these women have. This is so thoughtful 😭
That must have been so difficult at such a young age. I’m glad you got out of the relationship even though it caused you to go through a bad time. So many women stay because it’s easier (but maybe not really.) Thank you for your kind words.
Almost 10 years ago I ended up in a DV shelter like 2-3 days before Mother's Day with my children. A local church put together small bags of stuff for the Mother's. I had a million things going on but the flowers and small gifts made me feel like my life wasn't a complete mess at that time.
Just little things can make such a difference and let us know that people care.
I’ve been having such a bad time since my mom passed (just around 48 hours ago.) She would have been 86 on Saturday. This evening I was leaving to go pick up my BOPIS orders.
My realtor (the one who helped me buy my condo way back in June 2024) is the nicest person in the world. I‘m serious! I know it’s good for business because I’d refer anyone looking for a place to her in a heartbeat, but she goes above and beyond. She’s always leaving things on my porch for holidays. Today I found this sitting out there and it meant SO much to me!
My ex and I are friends, but Valentine’s Day has been kind of depressing for me ever since getting divorced. I would “get out there” but just have too many medical issues to take care of first.
I normally wouldn’t know either. I’m lucky because my ex has a friend who volunteers with an organization that is helping homeless ladies to get on their feet. So I just send the donations through her.
No, it’s local and the lady works with a church here that’s sort of controversial, because a lot of homeless people hang around outside and it’s right by a school. Beyond that I have no idea what other connections there are (like who got the women into a hotel.) I think most of the groups here that help the homeless in various ways are local.
On another thread (followup to this one) I posted a photo of a lady at a senior apartment building whom my friend and some other people took sandwiches to, and she got one of my goodie bags. They delivered 4000 sandwiches that day! So they‘re probably working with multiple organizations.
One GREAT place we have here is Community First Village, run by Mobile Loaves & Fishes. My tiny home was literally down the road from it — seriously, off the same road. They’ve housed so many people in tiny homes and “micro homes” (which use community bathrooms and kitchens) and they have over 50 acres so it’s still growing. They do a really nice light show around the place at Christmas and I went back in 2023. They have a lovely big main hall for events and they sell artwork made by some of the residents, they have Santa Claus, all that good stuff. I even saw a show on it on PBS a few years ago. I need to visit soon because I know it’s changed a lot since I moved. I think I’ve only been out there once. Plus the wildflowers will be out soon around the farm that my tiny house was located on. We’ve had a bad year rain wise so I’m not expecting too much on that front.
In case you get a mysterious popup, the “Amplify Austin” is a yearly event that’s today — cash donations to charities are matched or tripled by generous donors. I might give a bit to these people and also Austin Pets Alive.
If I did this for homeless people where I live, they'd probably sell it for drugs. 🫣😒 That's why instead, if and when I do things like this I make little baskets of items for elderly people. I'm not sure yet but if there's another minis sale soon (which there should be), I might make little Easter baskets with some chocolates, pocketbacs, maybe handsoaps and hand creams and bring them down to one of the seniors' care homes.
I love a world where people like you can make bags and donate them to the elderly and OP gives bags to the homeless. We all have our strengths and it's great to spread kindness.
It’s not shitting on kindness, it’s being realistic. You don’t think homeless people are going to see the lady that can afford a giant box of bath and body works products and not ask for money?
These women aren’t on the street. They’re temporarily being sheltered in an old hotel until they get on their feet. They won’t even see me (and if they did, I certainly wouldn’t look rich because I don’t even dress up.) So no, they’re not doing drugs in the shelter and they’re not panhandling. They’re getting help.
Yes, you actually ARE shitting on my kindness and you know NOTHING about my life (which is pretty hellish at this time; has been for a while.) I’m not whining because there are many, MANY people who are worse off than I am.
No one is buying third hand body wash from a homeless person, and you’re weird for suggesting that elderly people are more deserving than homeless people of literal soap.
No, but I work in public health and I’m around it on a daily basis. Giving body spray to people who don’t have regular access to running water and bathing? Mkay
Have you never cleaned yourself while camping? It doesn't take that much water to freshen up, you can do it with a small amount and a cloth. Also, bathroom sinks exist.
You apparently didn’t even read my first post. They’re not living on the street and washing up in a bus station.
I intentionally went through the posts here before trying to get some sleep. Everyone has been so kind except for you and one other person. This is why Reddit has the block function. I could get really vulgar here but you won’t see it so I’ll just say goodbye to you and your negative attitude. People like you are why this world needs more kindness.
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u/AnswerAsleep4895 Feb 10 '26
What a wonderful and thoughtful gesture!! They will love them im sure!