Living Within Our Means

Is it possible to live within our means? I used to ask my husband on a daily basis how does everyone live in a beautiful home, drive a new car every few years, pay for their children's college education and take vacation after vacation? He would answer they don't and I would argue but they do. I guess he was right, they don't!

When President Obama spoke this week about living within our means I wondered if everyone understood what that meant. The last time we heard these words spoken was from President Carter, and no one listened. After 9/11 President Bush told everyone to go out and spend. Spend they did, on homes, cars, vacations, computers, flat screen televisions, etc. But how did they do it? They took equity out on their homes to pay for what they wanted and not necessarily what they needed. They maxed out their credit cards, took enormous college loans, leased their cars, charged trips, and turned in their homes for bigger ones. Mortgage companies gave people a false sense that they could afford a home of their dreams by offering sub prime mortgages or interest only mortgages. Some did not even check their employment status. Suze Orman was on all the talk shows this week telling everyone to start saving and stop spending. Most Americans have nothing to fall back on if they lose their jobs. Credit card companies that charge 18% interest are now going to charge 31%. The sad part about this is that other countries followed our lead.

Will the economic downturn we find ourselves in change the way we spend money? Is it possible for us to live with less? As Americans, are we able to be satisfied with owning what we can afford and need vs. what we want? I have been trying this new experiment when I shop now. Before I make a purchase I ask myself a few questions. Do I need it? Can I afford it?

You would be amazed at how many items I put back!

Dorothy Goodwin

Lasting Impressions

Every so often in life you run into someone who makes a lasting impression. Recently, I had the privilege of meeting such a person. I don't even know this person's hobbies or interests. I don't know what kind of student she is or what her aspirations are. I don't even know her favorite color or food. All I know is that she has made a lasting impression on me because of her kind, generous, mature and happy heart.

MM I am honored to know you!

Dorothy Goodwin

Lights, Camera, Action!

On Monday, February 23, 2009, Marianne Snow and I were interviewed on a cable show called The Total Woman. I was not sure what to expect, except for the fact that I had met the host Cheryl Webb Scott before and found her to be friendly and easy to talk too. The Stoneham TV studio (which was converted from the Unitarian Church) was very nice and the all women crew could not of been more professional or complimentary. The purpose of the interview was to introduce ourselves and our organization to those in the 26 communities where this program will be aired. We were not given questions ahead of time and very little direction. It was basically like sitting around a table and telling the story of how Gathering Change, Inc., came to be, how we are different from other charities and why we believe that has helped us spread to 18 communities in less than four months. I did state some obvious facts about the economy and that the need for emergency food assistance was up 50% from last year at this time, but I felt like there was so much more to say. Thank goodness Marianne was right next to me and was able to add information that I missed.

Then something happened toward the end of the interview. The faces of the individuals waiting in the food pantry line came into my head, one by one, and I felt like I was not speaking for myself but rather for all of those who could not. I knew at that moment I was where I needed to be and I was able to say what needed to be said.

Thank you Cheryl!

Dorothy Goodwin

Hope

Yesterday I spent the afternoon visiting two family members at two different nursing homes. Both have lived through the depression, but both believe this time will be different. Back then people did not have a lot. Some had their own homes, not a lot of clothes, certainly not a car for every family member of driving age and most households only had one income. When I asked how they were able to feed a family of seven I was told they were given rations of food. If there was an extra egg or an extra cup of flour they would share it with a neighbor. Their Church would send a package of used clothes every so often. We have all seen pictures of the long bread lines and wonder if it will come to that again.

This past year we have been fed a constant diet of bad news. With home foreclosures at an all time high, a figure that is expected to reach over three million by the end of this year. Layoffs by the millions (3.6 million to be exact) most of which occured in the last three months and not a lot of options for new ones. It is no wonder that everyone is worried. Even those that did not get laid off are feeling for the ones that did. We all know someone who has or will be. There is a new term called 'job guilt.” This is when you are lucky enough to keep your job but your co-worker (friend) is not.

We could learn from the past and share what we have with a friend or neighbor. We have the capacity to reinvent ourselves and our world. It may not the the world of excess where we continue to spend $40 for every $1 that we have. Maybe we will have to learn to live within our means like our parents did. Maybe we can offer a neighbor an egg, a cup of flour, a friendly hello or a handshake. Maybe, just maybe, we can come together to help out one another. This is 'Neighbors helping neighbors”. This is my hope for our future.

Dorothy Goodwin

Priceless Treasure

Recently, a friend of mine spoke about hosting a Gold Rush Party. This is where you bring all your out dated, broken pieces of jewelry made of gold and platinum that you are no longer wearing. A few “experts” look at each piece, assign it a value and write you a check. Most, if not all, of what is collected will be melted down.

This jewelry is just sitting there in your home, maybe in a jewelry box, or a drawer. The years have gone by and it is still just minding its own business and probably wondering if it will ever see the light of day - waiting. Along comes an opportunity to actually do something with all this jewelry!

The same can be said for spare change. Most of us have it. Some have it in jars, on the top of their dryer's, in the bottom of their pocket books, or on the floor of their cars. Like the jewelry it is waiting for the opportunity to be of use. Some of us will gather it up and turn it in, maybe for something we want or need, but for most of us it sits there - waiting.

Just Like the Gold Rush Party, Gathering Change, Inc., is offering an opportunity to assign a value to your spare change. Once it is put through a change counter you will know its exact worth. It will then be distributed back to the city/town it came from. Unlike turning in your jewelry, you will not receive a check, but what you will receive is knowing that you turned your unused spare change into a treasure for a neighbor in need.

Dorothy Goodwin

The Fearest of Them All

On my husband's night table he has a pile of books. As I was making the bed this morning my eye could not help but read the title of the book lying on top. “Art and Fear”. If this was a true art form I would be known for being the fearest of them all.

Not long ago when my son A was in high school he began doing community service in and around the Boston area. He also had the opportunity to go on several trips to West Virginia to help out the poorest of the poor who lived in unsanitary conditions, with high unemployment and few opportunities to change their lives. He also volunteered at Ruah House. This is a home for women living and dying with Aids. His first job out of college was at an overnight facility for abused, run away teens. After that he counseled addicts and the homeless. For his Master's Program he is working in a physic unit at a North Shore Hospital. If you asked him if he was afraid he would say no.

My daughter K, while at college, began volunteering to help the victims of Katrina in New Orleans. She went back three times, even though, the conditions were not safe and at times very unsanitary. What she saw, she will never forget, like the decomposing animals, the X's on the houses that were searched for dead bodies, the smell of decay and mold. If you asked her if she was afraid she would say no.

When my husband became a hospice volunteer and would spend hours with dying patients or when he volunteered at St Francis House to help with the needs of the homeless and you asked him if he was afraid he would say no.

I began volunteering at My Brother's Table a few years ago. All I had to do was help get the evening meal ready for 250 to 300 clients. My job usually involved making the salads. This was not difficult work. It was disappointing, however, when you were asked to prepare food that was donated and it was not fresh. We worked around this by adding more tomatoes and cucumbers. When the door opened and the flood of clients entered I immediately became emotional. Why hadn't I done this before?

When I stopped my business after 20 years without a clue about what I would do next, I had no idea it would be to help those in need. Gathering Change, Inc., has showed me that the fear of not doing is greater than the fear of doing. To witness another's fear is not the same as talking about it. To deliver a check to the food pantry and observe the individuals waiting in line, is not the same as mailing it in. You never forget the faces of uncertainty, you never forget this could be you, you never forget the deafening silence as they wait their turn, or the small part you play in helping and know it will never be enough.

If you asked me if I am afraid, I would say yes, but will it stop me? I would say no!

Dorothy Goodwin

The Heart of Every Home

The heart of every home can be round or square, oblong or rectangle, wood, glass or even Formica. I am talking about the Kitchen Table. This is where we begin and end each day. At my kitchen table, the one I share with my husband and two children, I have watched play dough turn into clay sculptures. I have watched printing turn into cursive. I have seen spelling words turn into short stories. I have seen finger paints turn into brush strokes. I have watched my childrens feet, that used to dangle, touch the ground and their hands, that could not reach, grab hold.

We have laughed and cried at this special place. We have shared our dreams, hopes and fears here. We have celebrated holidays and watched the candles on the birthday cakes increase.

If every kitchen table could talk, it would have its own story. It is the place we go for comfort, even if the chairs are not the most comfortable. It is the place we go for conversation, even if it is the most chaotic. Most importantly it is the place we go for nourishment of the body, mind and soul.

Let us not take for granted

the food that we eat,

the table from which we eat

and the people with whom we share it.

Dorothy Goodwin

The Luckiest Girl

Some of my fondest childhood memories are around food. I remember walking home and seeing my kitchen light on. I knew that meant there was a meal being prepared for me and my family by my Mom. I knew I was the luckiest girl in the world because my Mom was the best cook, except for maybe my Grandmother. Every night we were fortunate to sit down to a delicious meal and a special dessert.

For breakfast I had a choice of cereal, waffles, pancakes or my favorite egg on toast, juice and milk. Each day, I carried my lunch to school and bought milk for 3 cents to go with my bologna sandwich, (tuna on Fridays) apple and two homemade chocolate chip or snicker doodle cookies.

There was always fresh fruit in my house. We even had a fruit man who came to our home every Friday night during the summer months so we could buy our fresh fruit and vegetables for the week. I remember walking into the back of the truck to pick out plums and peaches.

I don't ever remember not having enough to eat, being hungry after a meal or wondering if there would be seconds. I don't ever remember wondering if other people were hungry.

I assumed everyone had enough food to eat.

We also felt special because our Mom also made all our clothes. We would make a few trips to Jordan Marsh in Boston each year to purchase fabric. My Mom would make us dresses and coats and hats to match, skirts and blouses, even nightgowns with bathrobes and let's not forget the bathing suits.

I assumed everyone had enough clothes to wear.

I never remember being cold. The windows in my bedroom were drafty and on really cold mornings a thin layer of ice would form on the inside....but I never had to put on extra clothes to stay warm.

I assumed everyone had enough fuel to heat their homes.

I cannot imagine being a young child and wondering if there would be enough to eat, or if I would have clothes to wear, or heat to keep me warm and the opportunities of an education. But one in 10 children live with these worries, these fears and this reality.

Dorothy Goodwin

Welcome!

Welcome to Gathering Change, Inc.'s blog!

We want to use our blog as a means for sharing our mission, for storytelling, and for making connections.

Like the rest of Gathering Change, our blog will be a team effort with different team members posting on a regular basis.

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Dorothy Goodwin
President - Gathering Change, Inc.